The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has taken action in an old money laundering case against former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy. It has seized assets worth Rs 404.7 crore. This includes Rs 27.5 crore worth of shares owned by Jagan Reddy in three companies—Carmel Asia Holdings, Saraswati Power, and Harsha Firm.
This case goes back 14 years and is about companies that invested money in Jagan’s businesses in exchange for special favours when his father, YS Rajasekhara Reddy, was the Chief Minister.
What Was Seized?
Along with Jagan Reddy’s shares, the ED also attached land worth Rs 377.2 crore. This land belongs to Dalmia Cements (Bharat) Limited (DCBL). The company says the land is actually worth Rs 793.3 crore in today’s market.
Investigators say Dalmia Cements got this land and a big mining lease after it invested Rs 95 crore in Raghuram Cements, a company linked to Jagan Reddy. The ED believes this was a “give and take” deal—money was given in return for help from the government.
Money Trail and Secret Payments
The ED also found that Jagan Reddy, DCBL’s boss Puneet Dalmia, and auditor V Vijaya Sai Reddy made a deal to sell shares of Raghuram Cements to a French company called PARFICIM for Rs 135 crore.
Out of this, Rs 55 crore was reportedly paid to Jagan Reddy in secret cash payments through illegal channels (called hawala) between May 2010 and June 2011. These cash deals were found in documents taken during an Income Tax raid in Delhi.
The ED sent the final order to Dalmia Cements on April 15, showing that even after many years, the case is still very active.
