Hyderabad:
The Enforcement Directorate has summoned popular actor Ghattamaneni Mahesh Babu in a money laundering case linked to realty groups Surana Group and Sai Surya Developers. The agency has asked Mr Babu to appear for an inquiry on Sunday.
The actor, it was found, received over Rs 5.5 crore for appearing in advertisements for the Surana Group. Sai Surya Developers paid Mr Babu Rs 5.9 crore, including Rs 2.5 crore in cash and Rs 3.4 crore via cheque, for promotional activities. The Enforcement Directorate will investigate the remuneration paid to Mr Babu.
During searches at Surana Group’s affiliated companies, Sai Surya Developers and Bhagyanagar Properties, officials of the agency have uncovered illegal transactions worth Rs 100 crore and seized Rs 74.5 lakh in cash.
Key evidence, the agency has said, was found at the residences of Surana Group chairman Narendra Surana and Managing Director Devendar Surana at Madhapur in Hyderabad’s Jubilee Hills and Bowenpally. Evidence has also been gathered from the offices of Sai Surya Developers.
The Enforcement Directorate has said Surana Group engaged in a massive fraud under the guise of real estate ventures.
The agency said in a statement that they searched four premises in Hyderabad and Secunderabad last Wednesday as part of their probe.
“ED initiated investigation on the basis of several FIRs registered by Telangana Police against Narendra Surana, Director of M/s Bhagyanagar Properties Ltd., K Sathish Chandra Gupta, Proprietor of M/s Sai Surya Developers & others under various sections of IPC for defrauding and cheating gullible investors of their hard-earned money in the name of advance for sale of plots involving huge amounts,” the statement said.
It added that the probe had revealed that the accused “orchestrated fraudulent schemes involving unauthorised land layouts, selling same plots to different customers, accepting payments without proper agreements, and false assurances of plot registrations”.
“Their actions caused financial losses to numerous investors. By cheating the general public with predetermined and dishonest intention, they generated proceeds of crime which was diverted and laundered for wrongful gain to themselves and related entities,” it said.
“The searches resulted in the seizure of incriminating documents evidencing details of amounts collected by fraudulent means from various investors as well as unaccounted cash transactions worth around Rs 100 crore. Unaccounted cash to the tune of Rs. 74.50 lakh was seized from the premises of Narendra Surana and M/s Surana Group of companies,” the agency said, adding that probe is on.
