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ED Clears Naidu, Charges Company Executives in Andhra Skill Development Case

A Visakhapatnam court has taken cognisance of the ED’s late-January supplementary complaint naming corporate actors over alleged fund diversion.

Overview

  • The ED said its probe found no evidence of Chandrababu Naidu’s involvement in laundering proceeds from the APSSDC–Siemens project and did not name him in the complaint.
  • The fresh prosecution complaint targets Designtech Systems, MD Vikas Khanvelkar, former Siemens Industry Software India MD Soumyadri Sekhar Bose, and associates Mukul Chandra Agarwal and Suresh Goyal.
  • Investigators allege government money was routed through shell and defunct entities using multi-layered transactions and bogus invoices, with entry providers paid commissions.
  • The agency said the court took cognisance of the complaint on January 28, following earlier arrests in 2023 and asset attachments valued at about Rs 54.74 crore.
  • A Vijayawada court has accepted the state CID’s closure report on Naidu, prompting TDP leaders to hail a clean chit while a senior YSRCP figure accused the ruling coalition of influencing probes.