Hyderabad: Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials have registered cases against several contractors including Krishna Mohan Constructions (KMC) which is owned by Vikram Reddy Mekapati, a family member of former YSRC minister late Gautham Reddy Mekapati, for allegedly cheating National Highway Authority of India (NHAI). Vikram Reddy is the managing director of KMC Constructions.
The ED officials conducted search operations under PMLA, 2002 at the office premises of Bharat Road Network Limited (BRNL) in Kolkata and Guruvayoor Infrastructure Private Limited (GIPL) in Kolkata, KMC Constructions Ltd in Hyderabad and GIPL office in Thrissur in a case of embezzlement of funds of NHAI.
The ED initiated an investigation on the basis of an FIR registered by CBI against GIPL and others alleging that the company and it’s then director Vikram Reddy entered into a criminal conspiracy with unknown officials of NHAI, Palakkad, to execute work related to two sections of National Highway 47, during from 2006 to 2016 and thereby cheated NHAI to the tune of about Rs 102.44 Crore.
The ED investigation revealed that GIPL and sub-contractor KMC Constructions, with the help of NHAI officials and the project’s independent engineer fraudulently obtained the completion certificate of the road project and started collecting toll from the public.
Investigation has revealed that without completing the construction of the bus bays, GIPL illegally generated revenue by letting out advertisement space, which made them earn an undue benefit of Rs 125.21 crore, which is the value of the work not executed and proceeds of crime under PMLA, 2002.
During the searches, it was found out that the toll collections were invested by GIPL into mutual funds without remitting the cost of work not done to NHAI. Hence the freezing order was issued under Section 17(1-A) of PMLA, 2002, for a value Rs. 125.21 crore against the bank balance and fixed deposits of GIPL in Kolkata.
Further, searches have led to seizure of incriminating documents from the office premises of KMC Constructions which revealed that the company has sold its 51 per cent share in GIPL to BRNL without any proper valuation and without taking necessary approval from NHAI as per the contract terms. A freezing order was issued under section 17(1-A) of PMLA, 2002 against the bank balances of KMC Constructions for a value of Rs. 1.37 crore.
