Thaindian News

Hyderabad, Feb 1 (IANS) Two top bureaucrats of Andhra Pradesh and executives of Dubai-based Emaar Properties PJSC and its Indian associates are among 12 accused against whom the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Wednesday filed a charge sheet in the Emaar-APIIC township scam.

Home Secretary B.P. Acharya, the number one accused who was arrested Monday, and L.V. Subrahmanyam are the two Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officials who figured in the charge sheet.

Both the officers had served as vice chairman and managing director of Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (APIIC) between 2002 and 2009.

Subrahmanyam, who is currently CEO of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD), told reporters in the temple town of Tirupati that he was shocked over the CBI calling him in the case as a witness but making him an accused.

Reacting to the naming of Emaar Properties and its associate companies, Emaar said it would review the contents of the charge sheet before making any comment.

The charge sheet also includes former IAS officer Visheswara Rao who served as secretary in the industries department.

The investigating agency has also included Emaar Properties PJSC, Emaar Hills Township Private Limited (EHTPL), Emaar MGF, Stylish Homes, Boulder Hills and their executives in 157-page charge sheet filed along with 1,834 supporting documents, running into thousands of pages, in the special court dealing with CBI cases at Nampally Criminal Court complex.

In a statement issued Wednesday night, the CBI said it has filed the charge sheet against seven accused people and five private companies in the alleged irregularities in the sale of villas, plots, and flats in the integrated project at Manikonda in Hyderabad.

The CBI said the accused hatched the conspiracy during 2002 and 2010 to defraud APIIC and thereby the state government,.

According to the statement, the public servants abused their official positions and facilitated the private real estate companies’ sale of the villas and plots at exorbitant rates to buyers, remitting only the documented sale consideration and allegedly swindling away the unaccounted extra amounts received in cash.

The CBI, which examined 286 witnesses, said three private people acted as conduits to collect excess amounts from the buyers of villas and plots.

Those named in the charge sheet as accused include Stylish Home managing director Koneru Prasad, who is already in judicial custody.

Emaar MGF finance head (south) Vijayaraghavan and Sunil Reddy, an aide of YSR Congress party leader Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy have not been included.

The APIIC in 2002 had allotted 535 acres of prime land at Manikonda near IT hub in Hyderabad for the joint venture with Emaar. However, Emaar and its Indian associates, allegedly in collusion with some public servants, diluted the corporation’s equity in 2007 and roped in MGF as partners in the project.

The CBI believes Emaar MGF and their marketing agent Stylish Homes sold the plots for Rs.50,000 per square yard but showed only Rs.5,000 on paper, causing huge losses to APIIC.

Koneru Prasad, managing director of Stylish Homes, alone siphoned off Rs.138 crore through such sales.

Meanwhile, the court granted anticipatory bail to T. Ranga Rao, director of Stylish Homes, who has turned an approver in the case. He was asked to surrender before the court by Feb 6.

It was in August last year that the CBI had taken up investigations into the case on the directions of Andhra Pradesh High Court. The court order came on petitions by Congress legislator Shankar Rao and some leaders of opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP).

Meanwhile, Emaar said: “We maintain that the company continues to uphold the highest standards of corporate governance and follows the laws of the land. The company and its officials have faith in the judicial system and are confident that the group will be cleared of the charges and allegations.”

“We believe that there will not be any adverse implications for the business and operations of the company,” a company statement said.