ED Files Money Laundering Case Against TD Leader in BS-IV Vehicle Scam

Hyderabad: The Directorate of Enforcement (ED), Hyderabad, has filed a prosecution complaint (PC) against TD leader J.C. Prabhakar Reddy and 16 accused and entities in the ‘BS-IV vehicle scam’ before the special court at Visakhapatnam under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The court has taken cognisance of the chargesheet.

The ED stated that the Supreme Court on March 29, 2017, had ordered that vehicles that were not compliant with BS IV emission norms should not be sold or registered in India from April 1, 2017. Prabhakar Reddy, C. Gopal Reddy and others purchased BS-III vehicles as scrap at a huge discount in the name of their companies, including Jatadhara Industries Pvt. Ltd and C. Gopal Reddy and Co., and fraudulently registered them as BS-IV vehicles by using forged and fabricated documents.

The ED stated that a majority of the fraudulent registrations were done in Nagaland while some others were done in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.

Investigations revealed that 50 such vehicles were registered in name of Jatadhara Industries Pvt. Ltd and 104 to C. Gopal Reddy, the ED stated. Most of these vehicles were utilised by them in their transport business.

They also sold some vehicles by claiming that they were in the BS IV category. The ED estimated the proceeds of crime generated by operating and selling these vehicles at `38.36 crore.

Earlier, the ED had attached movable properties, including bank balances, cash, jewellery and receivables, and 68 immovable properties worth `28.62 crore belonging to Prabhakar Reddy, Gopal Reddy and their family members.