In a major blow to entrepreneur and film producer Nimmagadda Prasad, the Enforcement Directorate (ED), that is investigating the money laundering angle of the YSR Congress chief Y S Jaganmohan Reddy’s disproportionate assets case, on Friday attached 11,804 acres in Guntur and Prakasam districts allotted to two firms floated by Nimmagadda Prasad. The ED had attached 1416 acres of Vanpic land last year. Now it has attached 11,804 acres and issued a provisional attachment order for the same. The ED said to have tightened all the ways making it further difficult for Nimmagadda in the near future.
Nimmagadda’s Vanpic Ports Pvt Ltd and Vanpic Projects Ltd were allotted huge acres of land for the proposed Vadarevu and Nizampatnam Port projects and Industrial Corridor (VANPIC) by Andhra Pradesh government in 2008. The CBI, which took up the probe into the Jagan’s DA case, has filed a separate chargesheet on this Vanpic episode. While the state government entered into an agreement with Vanpic Ports, the land was transferred to Vanpic Projects. Naturally, this gave rise to several suspicions over government and Vanpic Projects functioning. The CBI suspected it as a conspiracy hatched in connivance with official machinery. The state’s then revenue minister along with the ports minister and then revenue principal secretary were all made accused in the case.The CBI has made Nimmagadda Prasad prime accused in the case and charged him with getting undue benefits from the state.
As part of quid-pro-quo deal, Nimmagadda, in turn, made huge investments in the Jagan’s companies, the CBI said in its chargesheet. Though there was a talk about Ras Al Khaimah in Dubai being a principal partner with AP, Nimmagadda was initially shown as an agent of RAK. Later, the CBI probe revealed that RAK was made to ‘exit midway’ and Nimmagadda emerged as the ‘main beneficiary’ of the state’s agreement. Subsequently, ED took up the probe under the pro visions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). Although the state was planning to hand over nearly 30,000 acres to Nimmagadda, ED could issue GOs only to the extent that were attached. Meanwhile, the probe regarding the conspiracy angle in DA case is still going on.
This also indicates that more trouble looming large on the horizon for YS Jagan Mohan Reddy who has been ‘waging war’ against AP CM Chandrababu Naidu’s alleged corruption.