AP Skill Development scam: ED attaches Designtech properties worth Rs 23.54 crores
ED attached fixed deposits amounting to Rs 31.20 crores of DTSPL confirmed by the Adjudicating Authority in Andhra Pradesh
By Newsmeter Network Published on 15 Oct 2024 1:10 PM GMT
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Andhra Pradesh: Investigation into the AP Skill Development scam has once again surfaced. Directorate of Enforcement (ED), Hyderabad Zonal Office, has provisionally attached immovable and movable properties amounting to Rs 23.54 crores in relation to the alleged misuse of funds in the Andhra Pradesh State Skill Development Corporation (APSSDC) Siemens Project.
The project was meant to promote skill development and entrepreneurship in Andhra Pradesh. ED initiated the investigation based on an FIR registered by the AP CID in the case of the APSSDC Siemens Project against Designtech Systems Private Limited (DTSPL) and others for allegedly cheating the Andhra Pradesh government by diverting and siphoning off funds invested by the State in the Siemens project for other purposes.
ED investigation revealed that Vikas Vinayak Khanvelkar, managing director of DTSPL, Soumyadri Sekhar Bose alias Suman Bose (former MD of Siemens Industry Software India) and their close associates, Mukul Chandra Agarwal and Suresh Goyal diverted the government funds with the help of shell/defunct entities through multi-layered transactions and siphoned off the funds on the strength of bogus invoices under the pretext of supply of materials/services.
Entry providers were used for the diversion of funds for which a commission was paid to them. The proceeds of the crime in the possession of the accused and entry providers were identified and various movable properties in the form of bank balances and shares and also immovable properties in the form of residential properties in Delhi NCR, Mumbai and Pune were traced and attached. Previously, ED had attached fixed deposits amounting to Rs 31.20 crores of DTSPL which has been confirmed by the Adjudicating Authority (PMLA).
ED had also arrested Vikas Vinayak Khanvelkar, Suman Bose, Mukul Chandra Agarwal and Suresh Goyal and filed a prosecution complaint before the Special Court (PMLA), Visakhapatnam. The court has taken cognizance of the same.
