ED attached 316 crore worth assets, issued 48 ECIRs in ’24

Hyderabad: In 2024, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) Hyderabad zonal unit cracked down on financial irregularities across Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, attaching properties worth 316 crore and issuing 48 Enforcement Case Information Reports (ECIRs), including the high-profile Formula E Race irregularities case.Legal actionThe agency filed around 28 prosecution complaints, focusing on accelerating legal action against the accused. One of the key actions involved the ED filing a prosecution complaint against Sahiti Infratec Ventures India (SIVIPL) and its Managing Director, B Lakshminarayana, for the alleged misappropriation of 842 crore collected from homebuyers under false pretenses. The court took cognizance of the case on December 4, 2024.In the Heera Gold scam, the ED issued attachment orders, seizing properties linked to Nowhera Shaik, the group's founder, who is accused of running a Ponzi scheme that defrauded numerous investors.The ED's Hyderabad Zonal Office also provisionally attached immovable properties worth 48 crore in a bank fraud case involving Transstroy India (TIL), owned by the family of former MP Rayapati Sambasiva Rao. Additionally, assets worth 5.34 crore belonging to private medical colleges in Telangana were attached in connection with a cheating case related to the blocking of seats for postgraduate medical admissions.‘Ghost fish loans' In the IDBI Bank ‘ghost fish loans' case, the ED provisionally attached assets valued at 19 crore (book value) and 71 crore (market value) belonging to accused. Throughout the year, the ED issued approximately 22 provisional attachment orders, reinforcing its commitment to combat financial crimes and ensure legal accountability for offenders in Hyderabad.Another prosecution complaint was filed against Nama Seethaiah, the brother of former MP Nama Nageswara Rao, and several companies, including REL and Madhucon Projects, for the alleged diversion of 365 crore in loan funds. The court took cognizance of the complaint on August 31, 2024.