3 weeks ago
ED Raids Ex-MLA Premises in Multi-Crore Chit Fund Scam
Some people who ran a company that sells land are in big trouble.
The company was called Wellfare Buildings and Estates.
A special team called the Enforcement Directorate found out that the company was tricking people.
The company promised to give people land in a city called Visakhapatnam.
But instead, it took their money and did not give them what it promised.
The company collected more than two thousand crore rupees from thousands of families in many Indian states.
It used money from new people to pay back older people, like a chain of promises that could not last.
The Enforcement Directorate searched the company's offices and the homes of its leaders.
They found lots of cash and froze many bank accounts and fancy cars.
One of the leaders used to be an elected lawmaker for the Congress political party, and now they may have to explain where all the money went.
The Enforcement Directorate's Bhubaneswar zonal office searched five residential and business premises in Visakhapatnam and Hyderabad under Section 17 of the PMLA, 2002.
The searches targeted Wellfare Buildings and Estates Pvt Ltd (WBEPL) and its directors, including former Congress MLA Malla Vijaya Prasad and Varaharamakrishnasatya Srinivasarao Alla.
Cash of ₹1.01 crore, property details and incriminating documents were seized, and freezing orders were issued for 182 bank accounts and six luxury vehicles.
Investigations allege WBEPL ran a large-scale deposit scheme disguised as a real estate business, collecting over ₹2,000 crore from the public and using fresh collections to repay earlier investors.
Thousands of investors from Odisha, West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand and Andhra Pradesh were defrauded under the false pretext of being provided land in Visakhapatnam.
The probe is based on multiple FIRs and charge sheets from the economic offences wing Bhubaneswar, CBI, ACB Dhanbad, Odisha Police and a reference from the Serious Fraud Investigation Office.
- Who
- The Enforcement Directorate, investigating former Congress MLA Malla Vijaya Prasad, Varaharamakrishnasatya Srinivasarao Alla and other directors of Wellfare Buildings and Estates Pvt Ltd (WBEPL).
- What
- Search operations under the PMLA that led to the seizure of ₹1.01 crore cash, freezing of 182 bank accounts and six luxury vehicles in a multi-crore chit fund scam probe.
- Where
- Five premises in Visakhapatnam and Hyderabad, with the ED's Bhubaneswar zonal office leading the investigation; investors were from Odisha, West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand and Andhra Pradesh.
- When
- Why
- WBEPL allegedly ran a Ponzi-style deposit mobilisation scheme disguised as a real estate business, collecting more than ₹2,000 crore from thousands of investors and diverting funds for personal gain.
Key facts
- Company
- Wellfare Buildings and Estates Pvt Ltd (WBEPL)
- Named Directors
- Malla Vijaya Prasad (former Congress MLA), Varaharamakrishnasatya Srinivasarao Alla and others
- Premises Searched
- 5 residential/business premises in Visakhapatnam and Hyderabad
- Cash Seized
- ₹1.01 crore
- Bank Accounts Frozen
- 182
- Luxury Vehicles Seized
- 6
- Alleged Funds Collected
- Over ₹2,000 crore
- Investor States
- Odisha, West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh
Sources
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