New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has caught Vuppalapati Satish Kumar, Managing Director (MD) of Prithvi Information Solutions Limited (PISL), for money laundering and causing a deficit of about Rs 3,316 crore to a association of public sector banks, the detective agency said here on Thursday.
Vuppalapati Satish Kumar was captured on August 12 under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, with the conspiracy of his sister Hima Bindu B, MD of VMC Systems Limited, a Hyderabad-based telecom equipment manufacturer.
The ED executed a money laundering probe on the evidence of FIR filed by CBI against M/s VMC Systems Limited (M/s VMCSL). M/s VMCSL had taken loans from an association of Banks and the present dues outstanding to all the Banks is worth Rs 3316 Crore. Forensic Audit disclosed that VMCSL circulated loans to different related entities to augment its books of accounts, said the agency statement.
It further stated that forensic Audit disclosed that M/s VMCSL had opened numerous Letters of Credit (LCs) worth Rs 692 Crore in the name of fake/dummy establishments which were subsequently dropped.
“V Satish Kumar through his establishment M/s PISL and M/s Ennar Energy Limited and with the active assistance of his sister Hima Bindu (MD of M/s VMCSL), in order to duck the banks, created false/exaggerated operational revenues by creating false sales/purchase invoices through the companies controlled by their family members,” the ED said.
“V Satish Kumar and V Hima Bindu drained off a part of the proceeds of crime by transmitting it to the overseas bodies administered by their family members,” the ED added.
Although V Satish Kumar asserted that he had no connection with the NPA of M/s VMCSL, over 40 Hard disks of M/s VMCSL were absconded from his residence during the search executed by the ED on July 20, 2021, said the statement.
On forensic probes of digital devices, it was discovered that he was indulged in anonymous transactions and engaged in efforts to remit fraud amounts to off-shore institutions, the ED said, adding “He was non-cooperative during the inquiry and was not supplying proofs of his own business entities on one pretext or the other.”
Satish Kumar was caught under PML Act on Aug 12 and was produced before the PMLA Special Court, which sanctioned 10 days custody to ED. Earlier, V Hima Bindu was detained under PMLA and is presently in ED Custody till August 18, it said.
“Further investigation is ongoing,” said the ED statement.