Real estate fraud: ED arrests Sahiti Infratec Ventures MD Boodati Lakshminarayan under PMLA

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested Boodati Lakshminarayan, the managing director of Sahiti Infratec Ventures, on September 29.

A special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Nampally, Hyderabad on Monday sent Lakshminarayan to judicial custody until October 14, 2024. 

“The ED, Hyderabad has arrested Boodati Lakshminarayan, Managing Director of M/s Sahiti Infratec Ventures India Pvt. Ltd. (SIVIPL) on 29.09.2024 under the provisions of the PMLA, 2002. He was produced before the Hon’ble Special Court (PMLA), Nampally, Hyderabad on 30.09.2024 and the Hon’ble Court has granted him judicial custody till 14/10/2024,” the law enforcement agency that specialises in combating financial crime said in a post on X.

ED probe

The probe agency, in an order dated December 21, 2023, stated that it had attached movable and immovable properties amounting to Rs161.50 crore of Sahiti Infratec Ventures India, MD Lakshminarayan, its former director, S Purnachandra Rao, their family members and related entities, and Omics International under the provisions of the PMLA, 2002.

The enforcement agency started the probe based on multiple FIRs registered by the Telangana police against the company and its stakeholders. A total of 655 buyers had registered complaints against the SIVIPL on fraud of around ₹248.27 crore over a promise of flats or villas. According to the ED probe, SIVIPL had received over ₹250 crore from buyers for the ‘Sarvani Elite’ project at Ameenpur village and other projects.

The ED statement said the company purchased land worth ₹89 crore in Ameenpur village, where no construction has begun since the project's launch three years ago.

SIVIPL paid ₹32.15 crore to Omics International for the development of nine acres of land held by Omics International in Ameenpur on June 12, 2020. But Omics International had transferred only two acres of land worth ₹3 crore.

Additionally, the agency stated that Sandu Purnachandra Rao, former director and head of sales and marketing of SIVIPL, had misappropriated Rs126 crore, which included ₹50 crore cash received from buyers from 2018 to August 2020.

He also owned properties worth crores, which he acquired from proceeds of crime after resigning from the company, the ED stated.