ED seizes 300 sale deeds, 'benami' land passbooks after raids against ex-YSRCP MP Satyanarayana, others

The federal agency conducted searches against the former legislator M V V Satyanarayana and an auditor, Gannamaneni Venkateswara Rao, on October 19 at five locations in Visakhapatnam.

Hyderabad: The Enforcement Directorate in a series of a raids has found evidence that the former YSRCP MP from Visakhapatnam, M V V Satyanarayana, along with two others, fraudulently acquired ownership of the government land that was once allotted to establish an old age home. They allegedly generated crime proceeds of more than Rs 150 crore.

The ED team along with the Visakhapatnam Sub-zonal Office conducted the search operations at five locations two days ago in Visakhapatnam. The case falls under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002 as it centres around the fraudulent 'alienation' of land measuring 12.51 acres with a reported market value of more than Rs 200 crore. The land had been allotted by the Government of Andhra Pradesh for the purpose of housing the elderly and orphans.

The ED initiated investigation on the basis of land grab FIR registered at the Arilova Police Station, Visakhapatnam against Gadde Brahmaji, Gannamaneni Venkateswara Rao and M V V Satyanarayana for forging signatures, fabricating sale documents and using coercion to grab the land located in Yendana village, Visakhapatnam.

The land had been allotted by the AP Government in 2008 to M/s Hayagreeva Farms & Developers for constructing cottages for orphans and the old.

The said land was registered in the name of M/s Hayagreeva Farms and Developers in the year 2010 on payment of Rs. 5.63 Crore. However, as per records of Andhra Pradesh Registration and Stamps Department, the market value of the said property as on the date of conveyance deed was actually around Rs 30.25 Crore.

Further, investigation has revealed that after the accused fraudulently acquired the ownership of the said land, it was divided into smaller plots and then alienated, from 2021 onwards, via means of registered agreements of sale and sale deeds to various persons thereby generating more than Rs 150 Crore for the accused.

Searches conducted at the residences and office premises of Satyanarayana and other accused persons resulted in the recovery and seizure of digital devices and incriminating documents in the form of benami Pattadar Passbooks; more than 300 sale deeds of immovable properties acquired in the name of Gannamaneni Venkateswara Rao, M V V Satyanarayana and their family members; cash transactions of more than Rs 50 Crore in the acquisition of immovable properties, and more. The investigation is still on-going.