The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) will be questioning Emaar MGF vice chairman and managing director Shravan Gupta in the Emaar-Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (APIIC) joint venture township project case. The CBI has already arrested key accused, Koneru Prasad, in the case.
Emaar MGF is the developer of the 235-acre township project promoted by Emaar Hills Township Projects Limited (EHTPL) in which Emaar and the APIIC held 74 and 26 per cent equity respectively.
Emaar MGF was roped in as the developer without the approval of the board of APIIC leading to a decrease in the state nodal agency’s holding to a mere 6 per cent. Moreover, Emaar MGF as well as Stylish Homes Private Limited, the marketing agency appointed by Emaar, had allegedly diverted the sale proceeds from villa plots by showing a price of just Rs 5,000 per square yard on the books as against the market price of upwards of Rs 40,000 per square yard, according to the investigative agency.
Upon collecting direct evidence to this effect, the CBI had arrested Koneru Prasad, the owner of Stylish Homes and the original mediator responsible for Emaar securing the project from the AP government.
The CBI officials said they had already issued notices to Gupta to appear before the investigating officials in Hyderabad on his company's role in the entire fraud played on APIIC. However, Gupta has asked for sometime citing his other engagements, according to them. “We will question Gupta as the money trail is also leading to Emaar MGF company,” a CBI official said.
The state Vigilance and Enforcement department, which had submitted a detailed report on the issue to the state government much before the AP High Court ordered a CBI probe into the whole case, had in its report maintained that MGF officials had collected money from buyers while keeping EHTPL in the dark and also booked the plots under the names of MGF staff working in Delhi.
CHARGESHEET IN OMC CASE BY DEC 4
The CBI is readying to file the first chargesheet in the illegal iron ore mining case involving Obulapuram Mining Company (OMC) owned by former Karnataka minister Gali Janardhana Reddy by December 4, even as the hunt for Gali's personal assistant Ali Khan is still on. According to the CBI, Ali is in the know of crucial information regarding all the illegal dealings of his master involving iron ore exports.
Meanwhile, it had also elicited crucial information from Y Srilaxmi, the serving IAS officer and fourth accused in the OMC case. "Srilaxmi said she had signed the files and GOs favouring Gali Janardhana Reddy's firm under political pressures," a senior CBI official said. The officer also committed mistakes in issuing mining lease orders on 39 hectare in Anantapur district. While the lease was meant for captive purpose, the officer omitted this key condition from her final orders (GO), according to the CBI.
Kadapa MP YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has told the investigative agency that he had nothing to do with the grant of mining leases to Gali Janardhana Reddy. The CBI officials ruled out summoning Jagan again in this case.
Apart from the two key accused, the CBI has already arrested former director of AP Mining department VD Rajagopal, whose judicial custody was extended by the special court to December 25 on Monday.
