Published Sep 12, 2023 | 9:17 PM ⚊ Updated Sep 12, 2023 | 9:18 PM
The ED filed the complaint under provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. (ED/Twitter)
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has filed a prosecution complaint under provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) 2002 against Akshayagold Farms and Villas India Limited, its promoters, and directors Bhogi Subramanyam, Devaki Harnath Babu, M Sudhakara Rao, and others in a Ponzi scheme.
The complaint was filed in the Metropolitan Sessions Judge-cum-PMLA Special Court in Visakhapatnam. The court has also taken cognisance of the prosecution complaint.
The ED initiated an investigation on the basis of an FIR registered at the Ongole-I Town Police Station in Andhra Pradesh under various sections of the Prize Chits and Money Circulation Scheme (Banning) Act and the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for alleged cheating and defrauding lakhs of people.
Multiple FIRs were registered by the police in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Karnataka, and CBI Odisha against Akshayagold, its directors, and others under various sections of the IPC and other sections related to respective state Public Deposit Acts.
The ED investigation revealed that Akshayagold Farms cheated the public by collecting deposits without any permission from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).
The accused allegedly collected funds from lakhs of investors, who were enticed by agents who were given handsome commissions to enrol new clients.
A hierarchy of agents was said to have been created in a pyramidal manner to earn high commissions.
People were lured into investing their life savings with promises of sites in advertised real-estate ventures and offers of a high rate of return in various deposit schemes, stated a press release.
Earlier, the ED attached assets worth ₹268.24 crore, including 376 immovable properties in the form of agricultural lands, commercial plots, buildings, and flats — situated in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Maharashtra — as well as movable properties in the form of bank account balances and investments in shares.
Further investigation into the case is said to be in progress.
