In a bank fraud case, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has taken away 15 immovable assets worth more than Rs 13.51 crore from Servomax India Private Limited, a company based in the state of Telangana.
The linked properties are in the names of the company’s directors, P. Chandrashekhar Reddy and A. V. Rao, as well as their benamidars.
In February 2018, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) filed an FIR against Servomax India Private Limited (SIPL), its promoters and directors, and others for defrauding public sector banks of Rs 402 crore. The money laundering investigation was started by the ED after that.
Letters of credit, bank guarantees, and working capital loans were among the loans obtained by the accused corporation from a group of banks. The accused is said to have taken the money, but not used it for what was supposed to happen, and didn’t return the money.
“The money trail inquiry found that the corporation had issued letters of credit in the names of its connected shell companies, had the letters of credit discounted, and routed back the discounted profits without supplying any paperwork.”
According to the ED, the people who made the money used it for their own benefit or to invest in their businesses as share capital or advance loans.
A lot of money is said to have been taken from the bank, both in cash and through the accounts of low-level employees.
During the inquiry, two benamidars from Maruthi Travels—Atluri Prasad and J. Rajesh—acknowledged laundering the profits of crime, according to authorities.
Under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, the ED has attached 15 landed properties in and around Hyderabad. Another one of the company’s directors, A V Rao, was detained on January 17 and is now being held in a judge’s office.
