More than a decade after an alleged quid pro quo case was initiated, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached assets valued at over Rs 405 crore belonging to former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy and Dalmia Cements (Bharat) Limited (DCBL).

The ED’s Hyderabad office, which issued the attachment order on March 31, formally delivered it to DCBL on April 15. The attached properties include Jagan Reddy’s shares worth Rs 27.5 crore across three firms Carmel Asia Holdings Ltd., Saraswati Power & Industries Pvt. Ltd., and Harsha Firm as well as land parcels in Kadapa district linked to DCBL.

DCBL Disputes Valuation in Jagan-Linked Quid Pro Cases

DCBL, however, disputes the valuation, asserting in a regulatory filing that the seized property is now worth Rs 793.3 crore. Despite the ED’s action, the company confirmed to the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) that its operations remain unaffected and that it will pursue appropriate legal remedies.

The investigation stems from a 2011 Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) case involving investments allegedly made in exchange for political favours. As per findings from both agencies, DCBL had invested Rs 95 crore into Raghuram Cements Ltd., a company connected to Jagan Reddy. In return, the firm allegedly received a 407-hectare mining lease in Kadapa, facilitated by the then Chief Minister and Jagan’s father, YS Rajasekhara Reddy.

Authorities claim this transaction wasn’t a standard investment, but rather a form of illegal gratification. The deal was allegedly masked as a commercial agreement but is now under scrutiny as part of a larger corruption scheme.

In 2013, the CBI formally named Jagan Reddy, DCBL, and others in a chargesheet filed under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Prevention of Corruption Act. The charges also include the questionable transfer of a mining lease from Eswar Cements to DCBL.

Another significant revelation in the probe involves a financial arrangement with a French firm, PARFICIM. Investigators allege that Jagan Reddy, alongside then-MP and chartered accountant V Vijaya Sai Reddy and DCBL’s Puneet Dalmia, negotiated the sale of shares in Raghuram Cements Ltd. to PARFICIM for Rs 135 crore. Documents recovered by the Income Tax Department in Delhi suggest Rs 55 crore from this deal was transferred to Jagan through hawala routes between May 2010 and June 2011.

This latest attachment is part of a broader crackdown by central agencies on alleged money laundering and corruption, as authorities intensify efforts to bring long-pending economic offence cases to conclusion.