Hyderabad: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted raids on several locations linked to Telangana Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivasa Reddy on Friday. These raids are part of an ongoing investigation into a money laundering case involving an alleged smuggling racket worth more than Rs 100 crore.
The case stems from a complaint filed by Customs and the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) against Harsha Reddy, the minister’s son, who is part of the Raghava Group. Harsha Reddy is accused of purchasing seven watches worth Rs 5 crore. The payments for these watches are reportedly linked to a hawala and cryptocurrency racket worth Rs 100 crore. A man named A Naveen Kumar is also under investigation by the ED. Harsha Reddy has denied any wrongdoing and called the allegations baseless. He was questioned by the Chennai Customs Department in April, after two luxury watches were seized by officials in February.
One of the locations raided was the office of Raghava Constructions, a company owned by the minister, located in the Banjara Hills area of Hyderabad. During the raid, officials reportedly seized important documents.
The ED deployed 16 teams to carry out the raids at various locations, and the searches are expected to continue on Saturday. In addition to the locations in Hyderabad, a team of officials also went to the minister’s home district of Khammam as part of the investigation.
Political sources revealed that Raghava Constructions was recently awarded the Narayanpet-Kodangal Lift Irrigation Project, and the company’s financial activities are under scrutiny. The ED had also previously conducted raids on Srinivasa Reddy’s properties before the 2023 Assembly elections. TPCC president Mahesh Kumar Goud has accused the BJP-led government of using these raids as a tactic to pressure political opponents.
