Andhra Pradesh Liquor Scam: Remand note of kingpin Kasireddy alleges Rs 3,200 cr scam

Amaravati: The remand note issued by SIT during the arrest of alleged 'kingpin' of the Rs 3,200 crore Andhra Pradesh liquor scam accuses that top YSRCP leaders collected monthly kickbacks of Rs 50–60 crore from liquor brands that were granted preferential treatment in sales through government-run outlets.

The remand note of prime accused K Rajasekhar Reddy, alias Raj Kasireddy, an associate of former chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, alleges that the racket started in 2019 and "kickbacks collected each month were laundered" through hawala operators in Hyderabad, Mumbai and Delhi.

However, the YSRCP on Saturday rejected these charges, criticising the TDP-led NDA government of orchestrating a politically motivated liquor scam narrative against party leaders and employing media propaganda to propagate it.

The SIT had arrested the alleged kingpin and made a case for judicial custody of the accused in the remand note presented before a judge of a local court here on April 22.

It alleges that the automated system of placing orders for procurement of liquor from distilleries for sale through government retail outlets was allegedly manipulated, nationally reputed brands were removed, and orders were placed on new brands way beyond the prescribed caps. Kickbacks of Rs 150 per case of cheaper brands, Rs 200 for mid-range brands and Rs 600 per case for high-end brands were collected, it alleged.

The collected amounts were handed over to Kasaireddy (who was IT advisor to the chief minister Jagan Mohan Reddy), who would pass the money to YSRCP leaders like V Vijay Sai Reddy, Mithun Reddy and others, the note alleges, putting the total money collected in kickbacks at Rs 3,200 crore.

A web of shell companies, oral testimonies and corroborative sources was discovered during the investigation, the SIT said in the remand note presented in a local court. Funds were transferred to gold/bullion accounts, real estate companies, and laundered using hawala.

"This is a case of conspiracy, cheating, criminal breach of trust, corruption and money laundering which caused huge wrongful loss to the state exchequer/distilleries and wrongful gain to influential individuals/blue-eyed distilleries/blue-eyed suppliers to a tune of more than Rs 3,200 crore, that occured between October 2019 and March 2024 in AP State Beverages Corporation Ltd, Vijayawada," the remand note said.

Kasireddy, the prime accused in the case, refused to sign his “confessional statement”, the remand report said.

In 2019, the then state government led by YSRCP issued an order authorising AP State Beverages Corporation Ltd (APSBCL) to establish government retail outlets.

The automated order for supply (OFS) was disabled and procurement orders were issued only to distilleries/suppliers "who provided kickbacks," the remand note alleged.

Brands associated with the syndicate allegedly benefited from increased promotion and shelf space, while some reputed brands were phased out.

The market share of popular brands like United Spirits, Kals Breweries, United Breweries and Pernod Ricard fell from 53.12 per cent in 2018-19 to just 5.25 per cent in 2023-24.

The panel also found that even though stocks of the popular brands were available in the depots, they were not supplied to the GROs and new orders for supply (OFSs) were not issued to those brands.

National reputed brands were removed and affiliates of YSRCP party started manufacturing local brands like Andhra Gold Whisky, Good Friends Whisky, Dare House Brandy, Champion Special Whisky, and Hearts Desire Whisky.

Orders were issued to preferred suppliers and brands owned by affiliates of the YSRCP party. These instructions were issued on February 13, 2020, the remand note alleged.

Every month, 30 lakh cases of IMFL and 10 lakh cases of beer were sold, taking the alleged kickback to up to Rs 60 crore per month.

The complaint in the case was filed on the basis of a report of a five-member committee which had found "suppression of the established popular brands and unfair discrimination in allocation of OFS over a period of time leading to almost disappearance of some popular brands from the market." The committee had also found alleged "favourable/preferential allocation of orders to certain new brands in violation of the existing norms, giving them undue market share and competitive advantage over the existing brands in the market." The committee found that during 2014-2019, the procurement policy was transparent and implemented through computer based auto-generated order for supply (OFS) issuance.

This system was replaced with a discretionary manual process controlled by a special officer post-2019, the panel said.

Against a limit of 10,000 cases that could be ordered for a new brand, OFSs were issued in quantities far exceeding this limit, the remand note said, listing out new brands that were given orders in excess of the cap.

"This preferential treatment over the existing popular brands gave wrongful gain to them," it alleged.

The liquor scam allegations against YSRCP leaders are a fabricated political conspiracy, built on coerced statements and baseless claims. The SIT has failed to produce even a shred of documentary or financial evidence. Low-level employees and private individuals were harassed, the opposition party said in a statement on Saturday.