Under the previous YSRCP government, the CID arrested Opposition leader N Chandrababu Naidu on 9 September last year for his alleged role in a scam, igniting nationwide controversy and aiding his return to power in recent elections. He was released on bail from prison on 31 October.
Published Oct 15, 2024 | 9:01 PM ⚊ Updated Oct 16, 2024 | 8:01 AM
Sources indicate that the ED has found no evidence against Naidu in the ongoing investigation. The absence of his involvement in official releases reflects a lack of supporting evidence.
The threat of Andhra Pradesh State Skill Development Corporation (APSSDC)’s Siemens project continues to remain alive. The development comes at a time when everyone had thought the election of TDP-led NDA in the recent Assembly elections had buried it in a deep trench for good.
Out of the blue, the Enforcement Directorate (ED), Hyderabad Zonal Office, announced that it had provisionally attached immovable and movable properties amounting to Rs.23.54 crore under the provisions of the Prevention of Money laundering Act (PMLA), 2002 in the case.
To put the case in perspective, it may be recalled that the CID under the previous YSRCP government in Andhra Pradesh arrested the then Opposition leader N Chandrababu Naidu for his “alleged” role in the scam on 9 September last year. His arrest, in fact, set the poll narrative on fire. It cleared the path for the beleaguered TDP leader to steam-roll to power in the recent Assembly elections. Naidu was released from Rajamahendravaram Central Prison on 31 October, last year, on bail.
The Enforcement Directorate on Tuesday, 15 October, 2024, said that its investigation had revealed that Vikas Vinayak Khanvelkar, Managing Director of M/s DTSPL, Soumyadri Sekhar Bose alias Suman Bose (Ex-Managing Director of M/s Siemens Industry Software India Pvt. Ltd.) and their close associates, Mukul Chandra Agarwal and Suresh Goyal had diverted the government funds. For this, they used shell/defunct entities on the strength of bogus invoices under the pretext of supply of materials/services.
The ED said that the services of entry providers were taken for effecting the diversion of funds for which commission was paid to them. The Proceeds of Crime in the hands of the said accused persons and entry providers were identified and various movable properties in the form of bank balances and shares, and also immovable properties in the form of residential properties in Delhi NCR, Mumbai and Pune were traced and attached.
The ED said that it had previously attached Fixed Deposits amounting to Rs. 31.20 Crore of M/s DTSPL which has been confirmed by the Ld. Adjudicating Authority (PMLA). The ED had also arrested Vikas Vinayak Khanvelkar, Suman Bose, Mukul Chandra Agarwal and Suresh Goyal and filed a Prosecution Compliant before the Special Court (PMLA), Visakhapatnam.
The ED said that the Skill Development Corporation Siemens project was intended to promote skill development and entrepreneurship in Andhra Pradesh. The ED initiated investigation on the basis of FIR registered by the Andhra Pradesh CID against M/s DesignTech Systems Private Limited (DTSPL) and others for cheating the Andhra Pradesh government by siphoning off funds invested by the government of Andhra Pradesh in the Siemens project for other purposes.
The ED had launched an investigation into the case in 2022 itself and had issued notices to 26 accused in the approximate Rs.241-crore scam. The accused then included former IAS officers K Lakshminarayana and Ghanta Subba Rao, who served as top executives of the APSSDC when the alleged scam took place, and also former top executive of US-headquartered Siemens, Soumyadri Shekhar Bose.
Lakshminarayana worked as special secretary in the chief minister’s office during the N Chandrababu Naidu TDP regime between 1999-2004. After his retirement, he was taken as a director of APSSDC. Subba Rao served as special secretary in the Skill Development, Entrepreneurship and Innovation Department during Naidu’s rule, between 2014-2019, and was also the founder-managing director and chief executive officer of APSSDC.
The CID included Chandrababu Naidu’s name among the accused much later in 2023. The scam that the CID had said related to alleged siphoning of funds of the state government by a “network of companies” of the Siemens Project, undertaken by the APSSDC, was first discovered in a forensic audit. It led to ED probing the case independently. The probe had uncovered the top executives of the Design Tech, which provides engineering and product design services — and Siemens, reportedly diverted funds through shell companies.
The Siemens Project was meant to establish six Siemens clusters for skill development training, each costing Rs.546.84 crore. It was said that 2014-2015, Siemens India Software Limited’s managing director Soumyadri Shekhar Bose and DesignTech’s managing director Vikas Khanvilkar approached Chandrababu Naidu who was chief minister then, and proposed setting Centres of Excellence for skill development training in Andhra Pradesh.
The project cost was to be Rs.3,300 crore but Siemens and DesignTech would bear 90 percent of the investment while Andhra Pradesh should furnish 10 percent of the money.
(Edited by Ananya Rao)
