ED clears Naidu of money laundering in AP skill scam

Hyderabad: Enforcement Directorate (ED) has said it found no role of Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu in alleged laundering or handling of proceeds of crime linked to the Andhra Pradesh State Skill Development Corporation (APSSDC) Siemens Project, even as it filed a supplementary prosecution complaint against other accused.The project was a public-private partnership aimed at establishing 40 skill development centres across Andhra Pradesh to provide technical training, which was later hit by allegations of financial irregularity. Naidu was arrested in the case when opposition YSRC was in office and spent 53 days in jail in 2023.In its supplementary chargesheet filed before a Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Visakhapatnam, the ED stated that its probe did not reveal involvement of Naidu in activities connected to the proceeds of crime arising from the project.The AP CID had informed ED in April 2024 that it filed a chargesheet before a special judge in Vijayawada in which Naidu and others were named as accused. However, the CID later informed the ED in Sept 2025 that the chargesheet was returned by the trial court on the ground that investigations into the predicate offence was still under progress.