Jagan case: Court freezes Rs 34 crore FDs of media firm

A special PMLA court here has issued orders for attachment of fixed deposits worth over Rs 34 crore of a media firm owned by YSR Congress leader Jaganmohan Reddy, identifying them as "proceeds of crime of money laundering".

The order of the Adjudicating Authority of the anti-money laundering Act came after the Enforcement Directorate (ED), in May this year, had issued attachment orders on the fixed deposits with a total value of Rs 34.66 crore.

These FDs were allegedly kept in the Jubilee Hill branch of Oriental Bank of Commerce in Hyderabad in the name of Jagati Publication Limited, a firm owned by the Member of Parliament (MP) from Kadapa in Andhra Pradesh.

"On a thorough perusal of the order of the honourable High Court, the FIR and the charge sheet of the CBI, investigations conducted by the ED and the statements recorded under section 50 of the PMLA and on careful consideration of the arguments advanced on behalf of the complainant (ED) and the defendants (Jagati Publication), we come to the prima facie conclusion that the defendants have committed the scheduled offences, generated proceeds of crime and laundered them.

"No doubt the properties attached are 'proceeds of crime' or 'value thereof' and are involved in money laundering. We, therefore, order confirmation of the provisional attachment order," the bench of Authority K Raamamoorthy (Chairman) and Mukesh Kumar (Member) said in its latest order.