ED attaches Rs 7.3 cr worth property of former I-T official in DA case

CHENNAI: Directorate of Enforcement (ED) has provisionally attached immovable property valued at Rs.7.33 crore under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act relating to the disproportionate assets case registered against Andasu Ravinder, Additional Director of Income Tax who was compulsorily retired from service by the Finance Ministry.

The officer had worked in Chennai. Of the five properties attached, one is in Chennai and another one in Coimbatore. Other properties in AP and Telangana.

According to a press release from the ED, the agency had initiated the money laundering investigation based on the FIR registered by CBI, ACB, Chennai against Andasu Ravinder and his wife Kavitha Andasu. According to the FIR, the couple amassed wealth in their names during 2005 to 2011 to the tune of Rs 2.32 crore, almost 171.41 % disproportionate to the known sources of income.

Investigation revealed that the couple entered a criminal conspiracy with others and invested the disproportionate income in five immovable properties in the name of Sri Ravi Teja Trading Pvt Ltd, Hyderabad. Earlier, the illegal gratification of Rs 50 lakh which Andasu Ravindar allegedly received in 2011 at his residence relating to certain favours over resolving tax related disputes was provisionally attached and subsequently confirmed by the Adjudicating Authority, New Delhi under Section 8 (3) of the PMLA, 2002 during 2018.