ED raids on locations linked to ex-cricketers Shivlal Yadav, Arshad Ayub

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday said it had carried out searches at nine locations in Telangana linked to Gaddam Vinod, and former India cricketers Shivlal Yadav and Arshad Ayub, who served as president, vice-president and secretary of the Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) respectively, in connection with a money laundering probe.

Vinod is the brother of Congress leader G Vivekanand, who is contesting the 30 November Telangana assembly elections from Chennur in Mancherial district.

In a statement, the ED said it carried out searches under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) at nine locations on Tuesday, including the residences of Vinod, Yadav and Ayub. "Searches were also conducted at the office premises of SS Consultants Pvt. Ltd and the residential premises of its MD, Satyanarayana," the statement said.

The agency claimed the searches resulted in the recovery and seizure of digital devices, incriminating documents, and Rs 10.39 lakh in unaccounted cash.

"A search at one of the premises of Vinod revealed that it was being used as an office for several companies owned or controlled by his brother Gaddam Vivekanand, a former MP who recently quit the BJP and joined the Congress," the ED said.

The ED said it had registered a case on the basis of three FIRs filed by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) Hyderabad, and the corresponding charge sheets filed by the ACB relating to criminal misappropriation of funds of the HCA to the tune of Rs 20 crore.

The agency added that the charge sheets contain allegations of serious irregularities in the procurement of DG sets, firefighting systems and canopies for the Rajiv Gandhi Cricket Stadium in Hyderabad.

It also said as per the charge sheets, despite deadlines, several projects were inordinately delayed, leading to escalated costs and budget enhancements and corresponding losses to the HCA.

It was also revealed that the office bearers of HCA, including its then secretary, president, vice-president and others, in collusion with private parties, arbitrarily had various tenders and projects allotted to preferred vendors or contractors at higher than market rates without following proper tender processes, and in many cases even before the receipt of quotations. Advance payments were made to many contractors but no work was done by them, the ED said.

The agency said the searches also led to seizure of incriminating documents, which reveal that Visaka Industries and its group companies have been regularly indulging in large value cash transactions and cash payments related to their real estate activities.

"Further, several instances of receipt of cash from various persons and passing of adjustment entries in such real estate companies’ books for accommodating such transactions have been noticed from the seized documents," it added.