The recent Income Tax searches on three infrastructure companies and also on P Srinivasa Rao, former personal secretary of Telugu Desam Party president N Chandrababu Naidu, continue to create political tremors in Andhra Pradesh.
If it was the TDP leaders who launched an attack on the YSR Congress party on Sunday for allegedly making false allegations against Naidu in connection with I-T searches, it was the turn of YSRC to launch the counter-attack on Monday.
If TDP leaders produced the “panchanama” report on the I-T searches on Naidu’s ex-personal secretary stating that the I-T authorities had recovered just Rs 2.3 lakhs from his residence to nail the YSRC allegations, the YSRC leaders came out with another “panchanama” reports on the I-T raids on three infrastructure companies and linked them to the TDP leaders.
The YSRC leaders alleged that the three infra companies owned by Kadapa TDP president R Srinivasulu Reddy, another by ex-minister Prathipati Pulla Rao’s son and the third one by Kilaru Rajesh, a close aide of Naidu’s son Nara Lokesh.
The YSRC alleged that these three companies had been awarded contracts by the Naidu government for various infrastructure activities. They, in turn, gave sub-contracts for the works to insignificant entities floated by themselves or their benamis.
These companies are found to be bogus entities. Such entities further sub-contracted to small entities whose turnover was less than Rs 2 crore to avoid maintenance of books of account and tax audit. Layer of entities was created to siphon off the funds.
These small entities raised bogus invoices and also invoiced at high prices so that the revenue will increase and thereby more cash is received by these entities. Those small entities withdrew the cash from the banks and handed over to the persons close to the prominent leaders in the TDP.
The YSRC alleged that the cash was later routed through hawala to foreign locations. Such amount was later invested in the entities owned by the TDP leaders in the form of foreign direct investment (FDI). The amount involved as per search operations is more than Rs 2,000 crores, they said.
The YSRC leaders say these companies, which are directly related to the TDP bosses, will have to face prosecution under I-T act, Foreign Exchange Management Act, Benami Act and Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) under Companies Act and would be liable for heavy penalties, besides imprisonment up to five years.
