Cong candidate Vivek violated FEMA in financial transaction

Hyderabad: The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) has found that Congress candidate G Vivek allegedly violated the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), 1999 in the financial transactions in his companies.

The ED investigation revealed that the bank account of M/s Vigilance Security was being used to circuitously transfer money with no real business rationale and that Dr G Vivek, his wife and their company Visaka Industries had transactions of more than Rs 100 crore with Vigilance Security. The entity declared a mere Rs 20 lakh as ‘revenue from operations’ on its latest balance sheet whereas it reported assets worth Rs 64 crore mainly in the nature of long term loans/advances. Since inception, credit and debit transactions in the company’s impugned bank account have been found to be more than Rs 200 crore.

The investigation also revealed indirect control of Vivek over Vigilance Security. The ED investigation further revealed, prima facie, FEMA contraventions by Vigilance Security Services Pvt Ltd and its parent company, Yeshwant Realtors, whose majority shares are held by a foreign national. Prima facie, FEMA violations were also noticed in the incorporation of an entity by Vivek in a foreign tax-haven country.

Search operations resulted in the recovery, seizure of digital devices and incriminating documents indicating suspicious /unaccounted transactions worth several crore, as well as the use of unaccounted cash in property deals. The seized documents also revealed large scale Inter-Corporate Deposits within group companies having no legitimate business but holding huge land assets. Searches also confirmed the bogus nature of Vigilance Security Services Pvt Ltd, which was found non-existent at its declared addresses.

The ED conducted raids at four locations in Telangana on Tuesday, at the residences of Vivekanand in Hyderabad, as well as the office premises of Visaka Industries Ltd, Hyderabad, and Vigilance Security Services Pvt Ltd, Ramagundam. Searches were also conducted at his temporary place of residence in Hitech City and in Mancherial where he was found.

The ED initiated an investigation on the basis of a reference from Telangana Police to investigate a transaction of Rs 8 crore from the bank account of Dr G Vivek to Vigilance Security.