ED seizes Rs 74 lakh cash during searches at Hyderabad firm's premises

Hyderabad, April 17 (IANS) The Directorate of Enforcement (ED), Hyderabad Zonal Office, has unearthed unaccounted cash transactions worth Rs 100 crore and seized Rs 74.50 lakh cash during searches in connection with an ongoing investigation against Sai Surya Developers and others.

The central agency conducted searches at four premises in Hyderabad and Secunderabad on Wednesday under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.

The ED said in a statement on Thursday that initiated investigation on the basis of several FIRs registered by Telangana Police against Narendra Surana, Director of Bhagyanagar Properties Ltd., K. Sathish Chandra Gupta, Proprietor of Sai Surya Developers and others under various sections of IPC for defrauding and cheating gullible investors of their hard earned money in the name of advance for sale of plots involving huge amounts.

The ED investigation revealed that the accused persons orchestrated fraudulent schemes involving unauthorised land layouts, selling the same plots to different customers, accepting payments without proper agreements, and false assurances of plot registrations.

“Their actions caused financial losses to numerous investors. By cheating the general public with predetermined and dishonest intention, they generated proceeds of crime which were diverted and laundered for wrongful gain to themselves and related entities,” the agency said.

The ED searches resulted in the seizure of incriminating documents evidencing details of amounts collected by fraudulent means from various investors, as well as unaccounted cash transactions worth around Rs 100 Crore.

Unaccounted cash to the tune of Rs 74.50 Lakh was seized from the premises of Narendra Surana and Surana Group of companies, said the ED, adding that further investigation is in progress.

In November last year, Cyberabad Police’s Economic Offences Wing registered a First Information Report (FIR) against Satish Chandra Gupta and Narendra Surana. They had allegedly defrauded a customer by collecting Rs 1.45 crore as advance payment for a plot in a fabricated and unauthorised layout.

There are allegations that two real estate promoters created fictitious ventures named Sai Tulasi Enclave-IV and Shanmukha Nivas on the same parcel of land at Vattinagulpally.

--IANS

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