The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has issued an order under Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) against one Subrahmanya Srinivas Pinninti, freezing his investments worth Rs 88 lakh made in India out of the proceeds of crime acquired in Qatar.
The freezing order was passed after search action under PMLA which was initiated following a Letter Rogatory (judicial request) received from the Embassy of Qatar here. Money laundering investigation by ED revealed that Pinninti had transferred suspected funds from his Doha National Bank account to his Indian bank accounts with Axis Bank and HDFC Bank.
“The money trail revealed that he has invested Rs 45 lakh out of these funds in various mutual funds in the name of his wife and self. And he also acquired a few landed properties,” the agency said in a statement.
On Tuesday, the ED had conducted a search operation at Pinninti’s residence in Seethammadhara, Visakhapatnam and it was found that he had acquired three residential plots in his name in Vizianagaram and Visakhapatnam districts, Andhra Pradesh. The current guidance value of the three plots is approximately Rs 43 lakh, the agency said.