Hyderabad: The Directorate of Enforcement (ED), Hyderabad has filed a Prosecution Complaint (PC) against 17 accused persons in the BS-IV vehicle scam before the Special (PMLA) Court, Visakhapatnam under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.
According to the ED officials, the Court has taken cognizance of the PC. The Supreme Court of India vide its order dated March 29, 2017, ordered that vehicles that are not compliant with BS-IV emission norms shall not be sold or registered in India from April 1, 2017, onwards.
However, J C Prabhakar Reddy, C Gopal Reddy, and others purchased BS-III vehicles from Ashok Leyland Limited as scrap at a huge discount in the name of their entities viz Jatadhara Industries Pvt Ltd and C Gopal Reddy and Company fraudulently registered the same as BS-IV vehicles based on forged and fabricated documents. The majority of the fraudulent registrations were done in Nagaland while some were also done in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, said officials.
ED investigation revealed that 50 such vehicles were registered in the name of Jatadhara Industries Pvt Ltd, and 104 vehicles were registered in the name of C Gopal Reddy.
“Most of these vehicles were further utilised by them in their transport business by plying them as BS-IV vehicles. Some such vehicles were also sold off by projecting them as BS-IV vehicles. The proceeds of crime generated by owning, plying, and selling these vehicles have been quantified as Rs 38.36 Crore,” officials stated.
Earlier, ED had attached movable properties (bank balances, cash, jewellery, and receivables) and 68 immovable properties worth Rs. 28.62 Crore belonging to J C Prabhakar Reddy, C Gopal Reddy, and their family members.
Further investigation is under progress.
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