ED summons 63 persons to unravel skill development scam

Vijayawada: Enforcement Directorate issued summons to 63 persons and entities under section 50 (2) of Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) to unravel the modus operandi of diverting government funds in the AP Skill Development Corporation’s Siemens Project scam.

According to the ED’s recent provisional attachment order, based on a complaint lodged by chairman of the AP State Skill Development Corporation, an FIR had been registered by AP CID at Mangalagiri against Ghanta Subba Rao, the then special secretary to government holding the charge of skill development, entrepreneurship and innovation department, Siemens Industry Software India Private Limited, Design Tech System Private Limited and others.

The FIR charged them of swindling ₹241 crore invested by AP government.
In the course of inquiry under PMLA, the ED examined documents related to Siemens project and bank account statements of various parties / entities and individuals. Details like annual returns and balance sheets too came under focus. In the process, ED identified several entities as prima facie shell / defunct organisations.

The probe found that funds infused by AP government into Siemens had been diverted to majority partners and vendors without having proper supporting documents. Work orders had been issued to various training partners without verifying their capabilities and experience. Further, a series of norms of the state government in relation to skill development training activities had been violated.

In all, AP State Skill Development Corporation made payments of around ₹370 crore to Design Tech Systems Private Limited in multiple transactions. Design Tech, in turn, transferred ₹241 crore to Skillar Enterprises India Private Limited (SEPL) for rendering sub-contract works for Siemens project.

SEPL turned out to be a shell company with no operations.