ED attaches assets worth Rs 7.57 crore in bank fraud case in West Godavari

Hyderabad: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday has provisionally attached 21 immovable properties, held in the name of Polepalli Venkata Prasad and his family members, and deposits of Rs 50 lakhs with an ARC firm, Meliora Asset Reconstruction Company, totaling to Rs 7.57 crore, under the provisions of Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA) in a loan fraud case. The attached assets are located in Tanuku, West Godavari District of Andhra Pradesh.

The ED initiated investigations under the provisions of PMLA based on the FIR of CBI, ACB, Visakhapatnam, against Venkata Prasad, managing partner of PBR Poultry Tech and other partners for defrauding Indian Overseas Bank (IoB), Veerabhadrapuram branch, Tanuku, West Godavari District, to the tune of Rs 7.34 crore.

The investigation revealed that the firm had availed a loan of Rs 5.6 crore by grossly inflating the value of the mortgaged properties.

Venkata Prasad also obtained Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises (CGTMSE) loans in the name of his associates to the tune of Rs 1.74 crore. The loan amounts were diverted and not repaid causing a loss of Rs 7.34 crore to IoB.

The ED investigation found that when the accused could not get more loan for this firm, they set up another shell firm for obtaining the loan. The investigation also revealed that the accused availed a loan of Rs 6.73 crore and cash credit of Rs 3.2 crore in the name of a shell company PBR Agritech Private Limited from Andhra Bank, Venkatayapuram Branch, Tanuku, by again inflating the value of the mortgaged properties in collusion with panel advocates.

These loans were taken on the pretext of constructing 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 an NPA (non-performing asset). Thus, the accused have generated Rs 17.27 crore illegally.

It was further revealed that the accused were trying to use the concealed proceeds of crime available to buy back their mortgaged properties through private deals with the ARC firm. This way they would be able to buy these assets at discounted prices and that too from the defrauded loan money. All the loans have become NPA and after conducting a fund trail investigation, and on the identification of 21 properties and the deposit with ARC firm, a provisional attachment order has been issued under the PMLA.