The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has provisionally attached assets worth Rs 4,109 crore under Prevention of Money laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA) in Agri Gold Ponzi fraud Case. The attached assets include 2,809 landed properties, Haailand Amusement Park of Arka Leisure and Entertainments Private Limited in Andhra Pradesh spread over 48 acres, shares of various companies, plants and machinery.
These attached properties are located in the following districts of various states:
- Andhra Pradesh: Anantpur, Kurnool, Krishna, Chitoor, Guntur, Kadapa, Vizianagaram, East and West Godavari, Visakhapatnam, Nellore, Prakasam, Srikakulam, Kadapa Districts.
- Karnataka: Bengaluru, Kolar, Yadgir, Mandya Districts
- Odisha: Khurda District
- Tamil Nadu: Krishnagiri District
- Telangana: Mahaboob Nagar, Narayanpet, Khammam, Mahboob Nagar, Hyderabad, Ranga Reddy, Vikarabad , Medchal, Malkajgiri, Nalgonda, Mahabubnagar Districts.
The ED has initiated investigation under PMLA based on multiple FIRs lodged in the States of AP, Telangana and Karnataka. The scam was perpetrated by accused Avva Venkata Rama Rao through Agri Gold Group of Companies. Avva Venkata Rama Rao hatched a well planned conspiracy and along with his 7 brothers and other associates setting up more than 150 companies and started collecting deposits from general public with a promise of providing developed plots/farm lands or withdrawal at a high rate of return on maturity/pre-term.
Thousands of commission agents were engaged to lure people with various schemes for hefty commission and managed to collect Rs 6,380 crore from 32,02,628 investor accounts.
However, the gullible investors neither got plots nor could recover their deposits. Investigation under PMLA further revealed that Agri Gold Group Companies used to lure the gullible public to join as depositors in their schemes either directly or through their agents under the pretext of real estate deal.
Investigation under PMLA further revealed that Avva Venkata Rama Rao and his family went on a siphoning spree and illegally diverted the public deposits and invested in myriad verticals and in private companies which were directly owned by their family. Their names also figured in the Paradise Leaks and had incorporated companies with the help of the infamous Mossack Fonsenca in Cayman Islands.
Investigation conducted so far lead ED in identification of assets totaling to Rs 4,109 crore which has been provisionally attached under PMLA.
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