New Delhi, Jan 6 (UNI) The Enforcement Directorate on Tuesday said it has filed a supplementary charge sheet before a special PMLA court in Hyderabad against B Lakshminarayana and Sandhu Purnachandra Rao, former officials of Sahiti Infratec Ventures India Pvt Ltd (SIVIPL).
The court took cognizance of the charge sheet on Monday.
The ED initiated a PMLA investigation based on an FIR registered by Telangana Police against SIVIPL, B. Lakshminarayana, and others for advertising a “pre-launch offer” for the construction of a world-class residential gated community and collecting large sums from prospective buyers.
The company, however, failed to deliver the flats or refund the money, thereby cheating buyers of their hard-earned savings. Subsequently, various other FIRs were registered based on complaints from investors and buyers of different projects undertaken by M/s SIVIPL and other group entities.
More than 700 homebuyers, who were promised delivery of flats or villas, were defrauded of a cumulative amount of nearly Rs 360 crore.
The ED investigation revealed that SIVIPL did not have the necessary RERA/HMDA permissions. Furthermore, there was no escrow account for the project, and funds received from investors were deposited into various bank accounts and also collected in cash.
The accused collected over Rs 800 crore through the sale of inventory in illegally launched projects of SIVIPL, cheating the public under the false pretext of selling inventory without obtaining required permissions and approvals.
They collected a substantial amount of cash from buyers, which was not entered into SIVIPL’s books of accounts, with a clear intent to conceal and siphon funds. More than Rs 216.91 crore in cash was collected from buyers for the project Sarvani Elite.
The ED investigation further revealed that the proceeds of crime were siphoned off by diverting funds from M/s SIVIPL to related and unrelated entities and individuals through bogus banking transactions without any genuine business purpose.
In addition, a substantial portion of the proceeds of crime in the form of cash was siphoned from SIVIPL’s bank accounts after withdrawal. Proceeds of crime were also diverted and transferred to overseas bank accounts by B. Lakshminarayana and his family members.
Moreover, Sandu Purnachandra Rao was involved in misappropriating approximately Rs 126 crore from SIVIPL, including over Rs 50 crore collected in cash. When this was revealed to B. Lakshminarayana after a forensic audit, he registered three FIRs against Sandu Purnachandra Rao for fund misappropriation.
To withdraw these FIRs, Sandu Purnachandra Rao entered into a settlement agreement with B. Lakshminarayana and transferred 21 immovable properties into the names of employees of the Sahiti Group and others, for the beneficial ownership of B. Lakshminarayana.
Sandu Purnachandra Rao also purchased immovable properties in the names of his family members and entities using the proceeds of crime.
Further investigation is underway.
