ED raids in multiple states over Andhra Pradesh liquor ‘scam’

According to sources in the ED, the raids were conducted on shell companies and middlemen who were used to launder the bribes received by the accused. On July 30, the Special Investigation Team of Andhra Pradesh CID seized Rs 11 crore cash and boxes of liquor bottles from a farmhouse in Shamshabad on the outskirts of Hyderabad.

The seizure was made based on the information provided by Varun Purshottam, one of the accused in the case, and a close aide of main accused Kesireddy Rajasekhar Reddy, former IT advisor to then chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy.

The CID had filed a case last year alleging a Rs 3,500 crore liquor scam during Jagan’s regime. According to its chargesheet, Rajashekar Reddy and P V Midhun Reddy, a YSRCP leader and three-time MP, were the masterminds of the liquor scam. Both have been arrested in the case.

The chargesheet alleges that YSRCP chief Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy was among those who allegedly received kickbacks, but has not named him as an accused. Rajashekar Reddy and P V Midhun Reddy have also been accused of funnelling money through over 30 shell firms. The amount was invested to acquire land, gold, luxury assets in Dubai and Africa, as per the charge sheet.