ED attaches another Rs143.75 cr of Jagan assets

The Enforcement Directorate yesterday attached assets worth Rs143.74 crore in connection with its probe into the money laundering and disproportionate assets case against YSR Congress party chief Y S Jaganmohan Reddy.

The attachment order under Section 5 (1) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) is the third by the agency after it earlier issued two separate attachment orders of Rs51 crore and Rs71 crore in the case filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation.

The attached assets include 135.46 acres of land belonging to Ramky Pharma City (India) Ltd, Rs3.20 crore in mutual fund deposits and Rs10 crore in fixed deposits of Jagati Publications Pvt Ltd. All these assets are controlled by Jaganmohan Reddy.

A report says the ED is in the process of preparing a few more attachment orders as it plans to build a watertight case against 'Jagan', as he is generally known, and his associates.

The agency is probing the case on the basis of the first information report filed by the CBI alleging disproportionate assets amassed by Jagan, especially during the tenure of his father, the late Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy.

Reports said that during the course of investigation, it emerged that the Ramky Group, led by A Ayodhya Rami Reddy, had invested Rs10 crore in a quid pro quo arrangement with Jagati Publications in return for the allotment of 135.46 acres of land worth Rs133.74 crore. The Ramky Pharma City (India) Ltd had either sold plots or leased the allotted land and made a profit of Rs133.74 crore.