NEW DELHI: A day after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested three promoters of Hyderabad-based Agri Gold in a money laundering probe related to Paradise Papers leak case, the agency on Thursday claimed it has attached assets of the accused to the tune of Rs 4,100 crore.
“The attached assets include 2,809 land properties, Haailand Amusement Park in Andhra Pradesh spread over 48 acres, shares of various companies and factories. The properties are located in several states, including Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Odisha,” it said.
The ED has accused Avva Venkata Rama Rao, the main accused, and his brothers of a criminal conspiracy to cheat small investors and launder the proceeds of crime. Rao and his Agri Gold group of companies collected more than Rs 6,400 crore from over 32 lakh investors in seven states and Union Territories and laundered the money for buying personal properties and investing in tax havens.
At least, 150 shell companies were created by the accused to launder money collected from investors in the Agri Gold ponzi scheme which promised hefty returns over investments in land and deposits. “Avva Venkata Rama Rao and his family illegally diverted the public deposits and invested in several private companies directly owned by them,” family members. Their names also figured in the Paradise leaks as they had incorporated several companies to launder the proceeds,” ED said.
Mossack Fonseca in Cayman Islands, which assisted Rao in laundering the black money, is under investigation by several countries for creating hundreds of shell firms for many high net worth individuals and laundering proceeds of crime.
A multi-agency probe is underway to unearth thousands of crore of tax evaded money laundered out of India related to information received through the Paradise Paper leaks.
“Investigation conducted so far has led to the identification of assets worth over Rs 4,109 crore which has been provisionally attached under PMLA,” ED said.