Mining baron appears before ED in ponzi case

Bengaluru : Mining baron and former Karnataka minister Gali Janardhana Reddy on Wednesday appeared before the Enforcement Directorate for questioning in connection with a multi-crore ponzi scam case, agency sources said.

"Yes, the quizzing is in relation with Ambidant (Marketing Private Limited)," a source in ED confirmed. Sources in the ED said that the questioning began in the afternoon and went on till late in the evening.

Reddy's close aide Ali Khan had allegedly struck a Rs 20-crore deal with Syed Ahmed Fareed of the Ambidant Marketing Pvt Ltd, a company accused of involvement in the ponzi scheme, to bail him (Fareed) out of an Enforcement Directorate (ED) probe.

During investigation, Fareed, who is on bail, had claimed that he had paid the money so as to get help from Reddy to bail him out in connection with the ED probe. Reddy had refuted the allegations against him.

Reddy was arrested by the Central Crime Branch (CCB) of the city police on November 11, 2018. However, he got bail from a city court three days later.