ED raids KMC office in Hyderabad in NHAI fund embezzlement case

ED has conducted raids in offices linked to in connection with its probe into the alleged embezzlement of funds of the National Highway Authority of India

Amravati (Andhra Pradesh): The Enforcement Directorate sleuths conducted raids at the premises of Krishna Mohan Constructions (KMC), a company owned by former YSR Congress Party minister Mekapati Gautam Reddy's family, for alleged embezzlement of funds belonging to National Highway Authority of India (NHAI). The ED conducted raids at the Hyderabad office of the construction company under the Preventive Money Laundering Act of 2002. The Ed was acting on the FIR registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation against GIPL and others.

The construction company is currently headed by Mekapati Gautam Reddy's brother and Atmakur MLA of YSRCP Mekapati Vikram Reddy. The company's directors are Pruthvi Kumar Reddy and Mekapati Srikeerthy. According to official sources, apart from raiding KMC offices in Hyderabad, the ED also raided the offices of Bharat Road Network Limited (BRNL) and Guruvayoor Infrastructure Private Limited (GIPL) in Kolkata.

Enforcement Directorate in a statement said, "The CBI has registered a case against Vikram Reddy for committing a criminal conspiracy and defrauding the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI). Based on that, ED conducted the raids."

The statement further said, "Between 2006-16 GIPL undertook two packages of works related to NH-47 at Palakkad. Then Vikram Reddy defrauded NHAI for almost Rs.102.44 crores. Some officials of GIPL and its subcontractor KMC NHAI fraudulently obtained a certificate of completion of the road project from the independent engineer of the project. Moreover, they set up a toll on that road and collected money from the people."

"The investigation revealed that an illegal profit of Rs.125.21 crore was made by renting out advertisement spaces there without completing the bus bays. GIPL has invested in mutual funds without depositing the amount related to the undone works to NHAI. Therefore, we have frozen cash and fixed deposits of Rs.125.21 crore in bank accounts related to GIPL. We found that KMC sold 51 per cent of their shares in GIPL to BRNL without proper valuation and without obtaining proper approvals from NHAI. Therefore, we have issued orders freezing Rs.1.37 crores in KMC bank accounts'', ED said in a statement.