Assets of TDP ex-MLA attached in BS-IV ‘scam’, Ashok Leyland under lens: ED
New Delhi, December 1
The Enforcement Directorate on Thursday said it had issued a provisional attachment order under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act to seize assets worth more than Rs 22 crore of former Andhra Pradesh TDP MLA JC Prabhakar Reddy, his associates and companies linked to them in a case related to an alleged BS-IV vehicles scam.
In an official statement, the ED said it is also probing the role of automobile manufacturer Ashok Leyland, headquartered in Chennai, in the case.
Reddy is currently the chairman of Tadipatri municipality in Anantapur district of the state. He had earlier represented Tadipatri in the Assembly as an MLA of the Telugu Desam Party.
A spokesperson for Ashok Leyland in a statement said the investigation is not against the company but “third-party scrap customer”.
“This matter reportedly seems to pertain to an old investigation from 2020-2021. We have submitted all documents and details as required by the Enforcement Directorate, which clearly establishes that we are not implicated in any manner. Ashok Leyland is compliant with all emission requirements,” the spokesperson said.
However, the ED in its official statement said, “Further investigation is in progress, including the role of Ashok Leyland in the scam.”
The ED said the case emerged from a March 2017 ruling of the Supreme Court in which it was ordered that non BS-IV-compliant vehicles should not be sold in India by any manufacturer or dealer from April 1, 2017. The registration of such vehicles was also prohibited from the same date, it added.
However, Jatadhara Industries Pvt Ltd (JIPL), “controlled” by Reddy, C Gopal Reddy (alleged to be a close associate of Reddy and civil contractor from Tadipatri) and others, in “contravention” to the apex court’s order, purchased BS-III vehicles from Ashok Leyland on discount and “fraudulently” registered these as BS-IV vehicles by fabricating invoice copies, the ED alleged in its statement.
A probe found that some of the registrations were done in Nagaland, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, it added.
“The ED has gathered evidence in the form of fabricated invoices from RTO authorities in Nagaland and original invoices issued by Ashok Leyland as scrap for the same vehicles and established the crime. The crime proceeds generated by owning/plying and/or selling these vehicles have been quantified as Rs 38.36 crore,” it said.
“Hence, movable properties worth Rs 6.31 crore, consisting of bank balances, cash, jewellery and receivables, as well as 68 immovable properties valued at Rs 15.79 crore belonging to JC Prabhakar Reddy, his family, companies controlled by him like Diwakar Road Lines and Jatadhara Industries Pvt Ltd, and C Gopal Reddy and his family have been attached after a provisional order was issued by the agency under the PMLA,” the ED said, adding that the total value of the attached properties is Rs 22.1 crore.
