Aurobindo to move Tribunal against attachment of property

Aurobindo Pharma is preparing to challenge before the Appellate Tribunal an order that allowed ED to take possession of attached property and fixed deposits worth Rs 12.90 crore in connection with money laundering probe against YSR Congress chief Jagan Mohan Reddy and associates.

Yesterday, the Adjudicating Authority of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) had approved two separate attachment orders valued at Rs 51 crore and Rs 71 crore of the agency paving way for their immediate seizure by Enforcement Directorate (ED).

"The company has full regards for law and the legal process and that it is in the process of appealing the decision before the Appellate Tribunal. The Company maintains that there has been no wrongdoing on its part...," Aurobindo Pharma said in a filing to the BSE.

ED had attached 96 acres of land situated at Kota Bhogapuram Village, in Andhra Pradesh belonging to APL Research Centre Ltd, a 100 per cent subsidiary of the company, along with a fixed deposit of Rs 3 crore, the total value of which is equivalent to the value Rs 12.90 crore, it added.

"The company has contested the matter before the Adjudicating Authority under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002. The Adjudicating Authority vide Order dated February 15, 2013 has confirmed the attachment," the company said.

This attachment order does not have any material implications on the current and future business operations of the company, it added.

The ED had last year issued attachment orders on plots worth Rs 71 crore owned by Dubai-based Emaar Properties, its joint venture Emaar MGF and others in connection with its probe into alleged irregularities in land transfer and sale of villas and apartments at Hyderabad.

The agency had also issued attachment orders on properties worth Rs 51 crore as it attached more than 13 acres of land of Janani Infrastructure Pvt Ltd and fixed deposits worth Rs 14.50 crore of Jagati Publication Ltd as "kickbacks allegedly received in lieu of granting favours" to private entities.

The attachment order, issued under stringent provisions of PMLA, was also against private companies which were "illegally benefited as a result of criminal activity" and illegal sanctions granted during the tenure of Y S Rajasekhara Reddy.

The other properties attached by the agency are 35 acres of land and fixed deposit of Rs 3 crore of Hetero Drugs Ltd.

Shares of Aurobindo Pharma today closed at Rs 179.90 apiece on the BSE, down 3.72 per cent from its previous close.