The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday said it has provisionally attached 50 kg of gold bars worth Rs 13.19 crore belonging to sand mining baron Sekhar Reddy and his associates in connection with the exchange of old notes to new currency notes under provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2OO2.

ED Joint Director K S V V Prasad said that after demonetisation, the I-T department conducted searches at various premises of Reddy, managing partner of SRS Mining and seized about Rs 97 crore of old currencies, Rs 34 crore of new currencies and about 177 kg of gold bars. Subsequently, the CBI registered FIRs against them claiming conversion of demonetised currencies into new currencies fraudulently.