Jaganmohan Reddy may face arrest in assets case


Jaganmohan Reddy
With the Andhra Pradesh High Court ordering a CBI probe into his alleged illegal welath, India's richest MP Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy may face arrest and his asstes are likely to be seized. The CBI, which conducted the preliminary investigations on th direction of the court last month, is expected to take up the full probe against the YSR Congress party chief, popularly known as Jagan and his associates after receiving the court orders on Wednesday. The federal agency will book a criminal case and take up investigations under the Indian Penal Code, Prevention of Corruption Act and Prevention of Money Laundering Act as directed by the court. The CBI may constitute a multi-disciplinary investigation team as as done to probe the Satyam accounting fraud. As the case involves alleged money laundering, hawala transactions and investments routed through tax haven  countries, the  team will have officials from the enforcement directorate, income tax and other agencies. Legal experts said that Jagan and others who were involved in the  case may face arrest. D.Srinivas, counsel of Telugu Desam Party (TDP) said that if the investigation agency feels the accused may tamper with the evidence, it may arrest then during the course of investigation.

He also believes that Jagan's assets may also be seized if the charges under Prevention of Corruption Act and Prevention of Money Laundering Act are proved. uring the by-polls to the Kadapa Lok Sabha seat in May this year, Jagan had declared assets of worth Rs.365 crore, making him the richest MP in the country. In the 2009 elections, he was worth Rs.77 crore. Textiles Minister P. Shankar Rao, on whose letter last year the court took up the hearing, claims that Jagan was worth Rs.11 lakh prior to 2004 but now he has assets worth Rs.43,000 crore. The court ordered probe after it was prima facie convicted that many companies invested corrupt money in the firms owned by Jagan as part of quid pro quo arrangement for the largesse and benefits received by the investors from the government.

The court in its order observed that the investors received benefits in various forms like special economic zones, irrigation contracts, relaxation/permission for real estate ventures and mines.

News Reported by AR

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