Enforcement Directorate attaches Rs 7.57 crore assets of West Godavari businessman

New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday said it attached 21 immovable properties and bank balance of a businessman from Andhra Pradesh in a bank fraud case.

The assets worth Rs 7.57 crore of businessman Polepalli Venkata Prasad and his family members have been attached.

The ED in a statement said that it attached the assets, including a deposit of Rs 50 lakh with an ARC firm, namely Meliora Asset Reconstruction Company under the provisions of Prevention of Money Laundering Act. The attached assets are located in Tanuku, West Godavari District of Andhra Pradesh.

The ED registered a case of money laundering on the basis of an FIR filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) against Prasad, Managing Partner of the PBR Poultry Tech and other partners for defrauding the Indian Overseas Bank, Veerabhadrapuram branch in West Godavari district.

It said during the investigation, it was revealed that the PBR Poultry Tech had availed a term loan of Rs 5.60 crore from the Indian Overseas Bank by grossly inflating the value of the mortgaged properties in collusion with Panel Advocates.

It also alleged that Prasad also obtained Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for the Micro and Small Enterprises (CGTMSE) loans in the name of his associates to the tune of Rs 1.74 crore.

The ED alleged that the loan amounts were diverted and not repaid causing a loss of Rs 7.34 crore to the bank.

"When the accused could not get more loan from this firm, they set up another shell firm for obtaining loan," it said.

The ED said that investigation also revealed that the accused availed term loan of Rs 6.73 crore and cash credit of Rs 3.2 crore in the name of a shell company named PBR Agritech Private Limited from the Andhra Bank, Venkatayapuram branch in Tanuku, by again inflating the value of the mortgaged properties in collusion with the panel advocates.

"These loans were taken on the pretext of construction of a poultry shed, but instead the money was siphoned off and diverted to the main accused, who in turn used this money to introduce share capital and machinery in PBR Poultry Tech. The Andhra Bank loan has also become NPA," the ED said, adding that thus, Prasad generated total proceeds of crime worth Rs 17.27 crore.

It said that investigation further revealed that the accused are trying to use the concealed proceeds of crime available with them to buy-back their mortgaged properties by doing private deals with the ARC firm.

"This way they will be able to buy these assets at discounted prices and that too from the defrauded loan money," it added.