Hyderabad: Officials from the Enforcement Directorate (ED) Hyderabad, which has registered cases against Sahiti Infratech Ventures India Private Ltd for duping customers of Rs 500 crore, on Monday arrested the firm’s managing director Boodati Laxminarayana in connection with an alleged case of money-laundering.
ED officials found that Laxminarayana collected funds from customers on the pretext of pre-launch of projects and allegedly diverted the funds. An FIR against him was registered by the Hyderabad Central Crime Station (CCS).
ED officials had raided Sahiti offices and properties in Hyderabad and Vijayawada a few months back and had assets worth Rs 161 crore.
One M. Yashwanth Kumar and 240 other customers lodged a complaint with the Hyderabad CCS against Laxminarayana, and others, on August 1, 2022, alleging that they were duped by the firm which had collected money from them.
Laxminarayana, other directors, and the company’s marketing team had induced the complainant and another 1,752 members into buying property in their proposed 32-floor high-rise apartments across 10 towers at Sahiti Sarvani Elite at Sy. No. 343 at Ameenpur, Sangareddy district, between June 2019 and 2022. They collected Rs 504 crore but failed to complete the project.
The accused collected Rs 65 crore from 69 customers for Sahiti’s Swadha Commercial at Nanakramguda, Rs 79 crore from 248 customers for Shista Abode Kompally; Rs 40 crore from 153 customers for Sahiti Green, Kompally (later, cancelled); Rs 135 crore from 269 customers for Sahiti’s Sitara commercial, Rolling Hills at Gachibowli; Rs 22 crore from 44 customers for Sahiti’s Maheto Centro, Banjara Hills; Rs 45 crore from 120 customers for Anand Fortune, Nizampet; Rs 16 crore from 25 customers for Sahiti Kruthi Blossom, Gachibowli; Rs 22 crore from 30 customers for Sahiti Sudeeksha, Mokila and Rs 6.9 crore from 43 customers for Ruby Con Sahiti in Bachupally.
It was also alleged that the accused paid about Rs 104.9 crore to the landowners of Ameenpur village for 23 acres. They registered 10 acres in the company’s name, while 13 acres were taken on agreement of sale for nine acres from OMICS company and an unregistered sale deed for four acres from one Kolasani Srinivas Rao.
