BS-IV vehicle scam: Hyderabad ED complaint against 17 accused for money laundering
Most of these vehicles were utilised by them in their transport business by plying them as BS-IV vehicles
By Newsmeter Network Published on 14 May 2024 2:00 PM GMT
Hyderabad: The Directorate of Enforcement (ED), Hyderabad, has filed a prosecution complaint (PC) against 17 accused persons/entities in the BS-IV vehicle scam before a Special (PMLA) Court in Vishakhapatnam under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.
The court has taken cognisance of the complaint, the ED said in a public note.
BS-III vehicles falsely registered as BS IV
The Supreme Court on March 29, 2017, ordered that vehicles which are not compliant with BS IV emission norms shall not be sold or registered in India from April 1, 2017, onwards.
However, the ED said that JC Prabhakar Reddy, C Gopal Reddy and others purchased BS-III vehicles from Ashok Leyland as scrap at a huge discount in the name of their entities – Jatadhara Industries and C Gopal Reddy and others – and fraudulently registered the same as BS-IV vehicles based on forged and fabricated documents.
While a majority of the fraudulent registrations were done in Nagaland some were also done in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. The ED investigation revealed that 50 such vehicles were registered in the name of Jatadhara Industries and 104 vehicles were registered in the name of C Gopal Reddy.
The accused earned Rs 38 crores through sales
Most of these vehicles were utilised by them in their transport business by plying them as BS-IV vehicles. Some such vehicles were also sold off by projecting them as BS-IV vehicles. The proceeds of crime by owning, plying and selling these vehicles amounted to Rs 38.36 crores.
Earlier, the ED had attached movable properties (bank balances, cash, jewellery and receivables) and 68 immovable properties worth Rs 28.62 crores belonging to JC Prabhakar Reddy, C Gopal Reddy and their family members.
