Agri Gold ponzi scam case: ED attaches assets worth ₹4,109 crore
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached assets worth ₹4,1090000000 in connection with a Ponzi scam involving ₹6,3800000000 collected from over 3200000 investors in six States. The agency had arrested three promoters of the Agri Gold Group of companies in the case earlier this week. The attached properties include 2,809 land parcels, Haailand Amusement Park of Arka Leisure and Entertainments Private Limited spread over 48 acres in and hra Pradesh, shares of various companies, plants and machinery. They are located at Anantpur, Kurnool, Krishna, Chitoor, Guntur, Kadapa, Vizianagaram, East/West Godavari, Visakhapatnam, Nellore, Prakasam, Srikakulam and Kadapa in and hra Pradesh; Bengaluru, Kolar, Yadgir and Mandya in Karnataka; Khurda in Odisha; Krishnagiri in Tamil Nadu; and Mahaboob Nagar, Narayanpet, Khammam, Mahboob Nagar, Hyderabad, Ranga Reddy, Vikarabad , Medchal, Malkajgiri, Nalgonda and Mahabubnagar in Telangana. The accused arrested in the case are Avva Venkata Rama Rao, Avva Venkata Seshu Narayana Rao and Avva Hema Sundara Vara Prasad. The ED’s money laundering probe is based on several FIRs lodged in and hra Pradesh, Telangana and Karnataka. According to the agency, the accused persons floated over 150 companies and collected funds through000 of agents on the pretext of allotting developed plots/farm lands or phenomenal returns to the investors. While about 11.5800000 depositors were from and hra Pradesh, 4.8100000 were from Karnataka, 1.6700000 from Telangana, 70,820 from Odisha, 28,646 from Tamil Nadu and 8,688 from Maharashtra. They neither got the plots nor could recover their deposits, as alleged. Earlier, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) had reported the business of Agri Gold Farm Estates India Private Limited as a collective investment scheme, directing the company to stop taking further deposits and return the money to the depositors. However, as alleged, Mr. Avva Venkata Rama Rao allegedly floated new companies to collect funds via agents. The ED alleged that huge amounts of money were siphoned off and also illegally diverted to myriad verticals and private companies directly owned by their relatives. Funds to the tune of ₹942.960000000 were invested in other sectors like power, infrastructure, entertainment, food industry, travel agencies, land, electronics and electricals, rubber manufacturers, agricultural activity, hotel business, chemicals, general trading and consumer goods, insurance, data processing, timber industry, mining and software publishing. Overseas entities were also incorporated to divert the misappropriated funds. Their names figured in the Paradise Papers Leak. The accused had set up the companies through Mossack Fonsenca in Cayman Islands, the agency has alleged.