Jaya, aides set up 18 shell firms

The Bangalore special court that convicted All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam supremo J Jayalalithaa and three associates to four years' imprisonment over unaccounted wealth found 18 companies were set up by the convicts over five years, 10 of them in a single day.

These companies, which did not carry out any business, were used to acquire 3,000 acres of land illegally.

The details of the court order, reviewed by Business Standard, also said the source of funds for these companies was Jayalalithaa.

"The accused have adopted an ingenious ploy in furtherance of their criminal conspiracy to shield the properties acquired through commission of offence. The illegally amassed wealth running to nearly 3,000 acres of land is parked in these shell companies," the judgment said.

Between 1991 and 1996, as many as 18 firms had come into existence and none of them carried out any business, the order said. There was no evidence to show any of the accused contributed share capital or received profits from these firms, it added.

"Ten firms were constituted in a single day with identical terms and conditions, even though none of the firms carried on business in terms of the said deeds. In addition, Sasikala Natarajan and V N Sudhakaran started independent concerns in their names during the period," the judge observed.

Except for buying a large number of properties, no other business was carried out by these companies. "All the accused have actively participated in the conspiracy to launder the ill-gotten wealth of Jayalalithaa for purchasing properties in the names of the firms and the companies acquired by them," the order said.

Though Jayalalithaa feigned ignorance about the activities of these firms, the companies were operating from, and the other accused were residing at, Poes Garden, her residence in Chennai, it added. "It cannot be believed that being the chief minister of the state, she was unaware of the activities carried on by persons living in her own house using her own residential address," the ruling observed.

The court ordered the Tamil Nadu government to confiscate properties registered in the names of six companies. All the properties registered in the names of Lex Property Developments Pvt Ltd, Meadow Agro Farms Pvt Ltd, Ramraj Agro Mills Pvt Ltd, Signora Business Enterprises (P) Ltd, Riverway Agro Products (P) Ltd, and Indo Doha Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals Ltd shall be confiscated to the state government, the judge ruled.

The other accused bought defunct companies, opened accounts and acquired properties in their names out of the funds provided by Jayalalithaa, the order said. "It is proved beyond reasonable doubt that the source for all the acquisition is provided by Jayalalithaa, which she could not satisfactorily account," it added.