ED Attaches Rs 23 Crore Assets in APSSDC Siemens Project Probe

The Enforcement Directorate has attached assets worth over Rs 23 crore under the anti-money laundering law in connection with the Andhra Pradesh State Skill Development Corporation Siemens Project case. While Andhra Pradesh CM Chandrababu Naidu was initially implicated, the ED found no evidence against him. Other key figures have been arrested.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached fresh assets worth more than Rs 23 crore under the anti-money laundering law spotlighting the Andhra Pradesh State Skill Development Corporation (APSSDC) Siemens Project case.

ED sources reported that no evidence implicates Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu in this case, although he was arrested last year by the state CID when Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy was the CM. Naidu's arrest dated back to his alleged involvement in the Rs 371-crore Skill Development Corporation scam during his term as the state's Chief Minister from 2014 to 2019.

The money laundering investigation originated from a CID FIR against Designtech Systems Private Limited (DTSPL) and others for cheating and diverting state government funds. The ED's provisional order under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) pertains to assets including bank deposits and properties in Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, and Pune worth Rs 23.54 crore. Key figures arrested include DTSPL's Vikas Vinayak Khanvelkar, former Siemens India MD Soumyadri Sekhar Bose, and associates who allegedly siphoned off funds through bogus invoices.

(With inputs from agencies.)