The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) has provisionally attached 28 immovable properties and other assets worth Rs 80.65 crore belonging to TRS MP from Khammam, Nama Nageswara Rao, and his family members in a money laundering case.

According to a statement released by the ED, this was done in connection with the money laundering case against M/Ranchi Expressway Ltd, Madhucon Projects Limited and its director and promoters and Rao is the promoter and director of Madhucon group of companies and a personal guarantor to the bank loan defaulted by the company. ED has also attached the registered office of Madhucon group of companies and residential property at Jubilee Hills in Hyderabad.

Investigations by the ED revealed that the promoters of Madhucon Group siphoned off the loan funds for Ranchi-Rargaon- Jamshedpur National Highway project through the newly-formed Ranchi Expressway Limited by taking up the entire engineering-procurement-construction (EPC) contract from the special purpose vehicle (SPV) and then taking out huge mobilisation and material advances. But instead of using the funds for the project, the money was diverted to other projects of the firm.

Direct cash amount of Rs 75.50 crore was first generated by paying, then it was received back through six shell companies under Nama Nageswara Rao and Nama Seethaiah.

“These subcontractors did no work, had no sufficient expertise, were based in Telangana and AP whereas the project was in North India and they took huge advances from MPL from the loan funds and then paid back huge amounts to Madhucon Group on the pretext of using the equipments and labour of Madhucon Group. ED has identified direct division of Rs 361.29 crore from the bank loan obtained by Ranchi Expressways Limited,” said the ED in its release.

One of the richest MP, a businessman turned politician, Nama Nageswara Rao, was earlier the TDP MP from the Khammam district of Telangana and leader of the party’s Parliamentary party before he decided to quit and joined TRS before the Lok Sabha elections in 2019. Even then the CBI was investigating Madhucon for irregularities, but Rao maintained he had no stake in the company.

The ED has identified and attached immovable assets of Rs 67.08 crore at Hyderabad, Khammam and Prakasham district and immovable assets of Rs 13.67crore including shareholding of the Nama Nageswara Rao and his family members in Madhucon group of companies totalling to Rs 80.65 crore.

Meanwhile cash wirth Rs one crore seized by Nalgonda Police at Munugode where a bypoll is scheduled to be held on 3 November. Police said it was being transported on instructions of BJP leader G Vivek.