ED seizes BRS MLA’s bank accounts, lockers

Hyderabad: Patancheru BRS MLA Gudem Mahipal Reddy was under the radar of the Enforcement Directorate (ED). The ED, which had already grilled the MLA in connection with an alleged mining scam and money laundering case, seized the bank accounts and lockers.

The agency sources said that the legislator disclosed the details of money laundering during the two-hour questioning, and the details of the documents were seized during the recent raids. The documents, which were allegedly in benami names, were reportedly related to illegal mining and money laundering. The ED was also probing Mahipal’s shares in the real estate companies in which he and his brother Madhusudhan Reddy allegedly dumped money.

The ED filed a case against Mahipal and Madhusudhan based on a FIR registered by Patancheru police, alleging that Rs 300 crore worth of mining was carried out illegally by the Gudem brothers, evading Rs 39 crore royalty that is due to the government. The money was allegedly diverted to other benami firms and other businesses.

ED officials conducted searches at 10 locations in relation to a money laundering case filed against Patancheru-based Santhosh Sand and Granite Supply, owned by the MLA, under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, recently.