Hyderabad: Former Andhra Pradesh minister and MLA Karumuri Venkata Nageswara Rao was on Monday remanded to judicial custody till Sept 7 by a special PMLA court in Nampally in connection with the alleged Rs 195 crore APSBCL liquor transportation scam.Rao was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) Hyderabad zonal Office on Aug 23 under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. The ED alleged that the former civil supplies minister was a “key facilitator” in the alleged scam. He was produced before the court on Monday.Transport tenders tailoredThe ED investigation is based on an FIR registered by the Andhra Pradesh CID following a complaint lodged by the state govt‘s additional secretary (vigilance).According to the agency, tender conditions for transportation contracts of the Andhra Pradesh State Beverages Corporation Limited were altered to favour Sigma Supply Chain Solutions Pvt Ltd and subsequently Prasaad Transports, which it described as front entities.The ED alleged that operational and financial control of these firms remained with individuals associated with Kessireddy Raja Shekhar Reddy, Dontireddy Vasudeva Reddy, Tukekula Eswar Kiran Kumar Reddy and their associates. It further alleged that transport contracts were awarded at rates substantially higher than prevailing market rates, generating proceeds of crime.Inflated invoicesThe ED alleged that Rao and his son, Karumuri Sunil Kumar, used their political influence and links with members of the alleged syndicate to exercise control over the allotment of transport sub-contracts.According to the ED, they arranged for Sree Sudarsana Constructions to function as a dummy subcontractor of SSCSPL, while the actual transportation work was carried out by others. The agency alleged that inflated invoices were raised to divert funds, with a portion of the money being transferred to bank accounts belonging to Rao and his family members or spent on their behalf.The ED further alleged that the proceeds were used to buy high-end vehicles and luxury watches, make advances for immovable properties, fund political activities and meet personal and family expenses through banking and cash transactions, while being projected as legitimate business income.
