The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached 210 immovable properties worth approximately Rs 110 crore in Maithri Plantation and Horticulture Pvt Ltd (MPHPL) ponzi scam case.
The attached properties include 196 land properties in Andhra Pradesh, 13 land properties in Telangana and 1 land property in Karnataka. The properties include open lands, plots, and flats and are valued at Rs 110 crore.
The properties were attached under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.
The attached properties are in the name of MPHPL, its sister concerns Sree Nakshatra Builders and Developers India Pvt Ltd, Maithri Realtors India Pvt Ltd and the directors namely, Lakku Konda Reddy, Lakku Malayadri Reddy, Lakku Madhava Reddy and Kolikalapudi Brahma Reddy of these companies.
The ED initiated a money-laundering investigation on the basis of the First Information Report dated March 24, 2013, registered by Andhra Pradesh Police under various Indian Penal Code sections and Sections 4 and 5 of Prize Chits Money Circulation Schemes (Banning) Act 1978 and Section 5 of APPDFE Act 1999 against Lakku Konda Reddy and others for allegedly cheating and defrauding general public. In total, 12 FIRs were registered by the Andhra Pradesh police.
The investigation by ED revealed that MPHPL ran an illegal Ponzi scheme and solicited deposits from the general public without any permission and without any kind of license to run a Collective Investment Scheme or NBFC, said the ED.
“It collected deposits from lakhs of gullible depositors who were encouraged to join by a network of organized agents who were, in turn, promised very high commissions on the invested amounts. Investors were lured with the false promises of very high returns or delivery of a plot in dream projects on maturity,” said the ED.
The federal agency said that the money trail revealed that the money collected from the public by MPHPL was illegally diverted to other group companies namely SNBDIPL and MRIPL for their real estate business and several properties were acquired in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Kerala and Karnataka in the names of MPHPL, SNBDIPL, MRIPL and the directors of these companies.
It further said that the accused managed to collect Rs 288.42 crore from lakhs of gullible investors. To date, out of the collected amount, MPHPL has failed to return and repay nearly Rs158.14 crore to the investors. (ANI)
