The Enforcement Directorate lodged a supplementary prosecution complaint in a Hyderabad court against B. Lakshminarayana and Sandhu Purnachandra Rao, former officials of Sahiti Infratec Ventures India Pvt Ltd (SIVIPL), under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. The ED’s Hyderabad Zonal Office confirmed that the court has acknowledged the supplementary prosecution complaint. This action follows an investigation initiated by the Central agency based on an FIR filed by Telangana Police against SIVIPL and others for deceiving homebuyers by not delivering promised flats or refunding their money.
Various FIRs were subsequently registered against SIVIPL and its group entities due to complaints from investors and buyers of different projects. The ED stated that over 700 homebuyers, who were assured flats/villas, were collectively defrauded of nearly Rs 360 crore. Investigations uncovered that SIVIPL lacked necessary permissions, did not have an ESCROW account for projects, and collected funds exceeding Rs 800 crore through illegal projects, deceiving the public by falsely claiming inventory sales without proper approvals.
The accused allegedly concealed and siphoned funds by not recording substantial cash collections from buyers in SIVIPL’s accounts. Notably, more than Rs 216.91 crore in cash was collected from buyers for the Sarvani Elite project. The ED’s probe also revealed that proceeds of crime were diverted to related and unrelated entities/persons through bogus banking transactions. Additionally, funds were siphoned off to overseas accounts by B. Lakshminarayana and family members.
Sandu Purnachandra Rao was implicated in misappropriating around Rs 126 crore from SIVIPL, including over Rs 50 crore in cash. Following a forensic audit, Lakshminarayana filed three FIRs against Rao for fund misappropriation. To withdraw these FIRs, Rao entered a settlement with Lakshminarayana, transferring 21 properties to individuals for Lakshminarayana’s benefit. Rao also purchased properties in his family members’ names using proceeds of crime.
Earlier, the ED conducted searches, seized incriminating material, digital devices, and froze numerous bank accounts in connection with the case. Properties worth Rs 169.15 crore were provisionally attached during the PMLA investigation. Both Lakshminarayana and Sandhu Purnachandra Rao were arrested in 2024 and 2025, respectively, and remain in judicial custody.
