The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which is about to file a charge sheet on the alleged financial fraud involving the 258.36-acre Emaar Hills Township Project Limited ((EHTPL), on Monday arrested Andhra Pradesh government's principal home secretary Bibhu Prasad Acharya.
Named as the prime accused in the case for his controversial decisions during his tenure as vice-chairman and managing director of Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation, Acharya was accused of benefiting the Emaar group by allowing the company to reduce APIIC's stake in the joint venture project to 6 per cent from the original 26 per cent.
The special court hearing CBI cases has given a two-day police custody of Acharya to CBI.
Acharya is the second AP cadre IAS officer to be arrested by CBI in the ongoing investigations.
The investigative agency had recently arrested Y Srilakshmi in the illegal iron ore mining case for her role in granting mining leases to Obulapuram Mining Company Private Limited (OMCPL), owned by former Karnataka minister Gali Janardan Reddy.
Emaar and APIIC had set up three SPVs to establish three joint venture projects, namely a convention centre, a golf course and a township project, after the state government led by the then chief minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy allotted 525.5 acre in Hyderabad for this purpose.
Of these, EHTPL, which was given a free hold right of 258.36 acre compared to the lease hold given to other two projects, ran into a series of controversies, first for reducing APIIC’s equity by roping in Emaar MGF as the developer of the project and then for selling villa plots at Rs 5,000 per square yard as against a market value of Rs 40,000 and above.
While Acharya was accused of allowing Emaar Properties to rope in Emaar MGF as the developer and subsequent reduction of the state nodal agency’s equity in EHTPL, some middlemen, including the promoter of the company’s marketing partner Stylish Homes, Prasad Koneru, and Emaar MGF were accused of embezzlement of money collected in excess of the sale price shown on record.
The other persons who were already arrested in this case are Prasad Koneru, GV Vijayaraghavan, Emaar MGF South India head, who also acted as the chief executive officer of EHTPL, and one Sunil Reddy, who is linked to Kadapa MP YS Jagan Mohan Reddy.
Apart from determining the roles played by persons connected to the alleged fraud, the ongoing investigation is also directed to find the ultimate beneficiaries of the scam and the money that was collected from plot buyers but was not credited to the account of EHTPL.
However, in sale of plots not every buyer was charged in excess of the stated price, according to the statements recorded by the investigative agency. These second set of people mainly comprised VIP-politicians including some ministers, relatives of high-profile individuals connected to both the Congress and TDP, who had bought plots in the controversial project at the rate of Rs 5,000 per square yard.
The ongoing investigation is also expected to explain as to why these individuals were allotted plots at a fraction of the market value.
