ED attaches assets of JC Prabhakar

ANATAPUR:  The Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday attached the assets of former Tadipathri MLA and municipal chairman J.C. Prabhakar Reddy and his close aide C. Gopal Reddy in connection with the illegal registration of BS-III
vehicles as BS-IV vehicles and violation of Supreme Court Orders.

The registration had been done by forging documents after purchasing the
vehicles from Ashok Leyland company in the name of scrap, as per the case.
ED attached assets worth Rs 22.10 crore of Prabhakar Reddy and Gopal Reddy of Tadipathri in Anantapur district after detection of irregularities of Rs 38 crore through tampering of documents to get registration of BS-III vehicles as non-polluting BS-IV vehicles in Nagaland, Karnataka and AP states.

The ED attached assets of Prabhakar Reddy and his associate Gopal Reddy in
the ongoing investigation under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

Notably, the ED initiated the probe into the money laundering aspect vis-à-vis the case of companies of Prabhakar Reddy and his associate, these having secured fake BS IV pollution certification for BS III vehicles. “The company had purchased 154 heavy vehicles from a dealer in the name of scarp but forged documents were used to register the vehicles as BS.IV,” the ED said.

The case emerged following a ruling by the Supreme Court that vehicles not
compliant with BS-IV emission norms should not be sold in the country by any
manufacturer or dealer from April 1, 2017. The registration of such vehicles
was also prohibited from that date, the ED said.

Cases were registered by local police against Prabhakar Reddy, his son Asmith Reddy and Gopal Reddy, who owned the Jatadhara Industries Pvt. Ltd in Anantapur and other towns, following complaints from Anantapur deputy transport commissioner.

The ED conducted raids on the houses of Prabhakar Reddy in Hyderabad and
Anantapur a few weeks ago. It questioned him and others over the illegal conversion of these vehicles. It collected fabricated invoices from the RTO in Nagaland and the original “scrap” invoices issued by Ashok Leyland for some vehicles.

The ED announced attachment of assets worth Rs 22 crore of Prabhakar Reddy and his associates. Movable properties worth Rs 6.31 crore, consisting of bank
balances, cash, jewellery and receivables, as well as 68 immovable properties valued at Rs 15.79 crore belonging to Prabhakar Reddy, his family members and companies controlled by him like Diwakar Road Lines and Jatadhara Industries.

“The crime proceeds generated by owning/plying and/or selling these vehicles
have been quantified at Rs 38.36 crore,” the agency said.