AP liquor scam: ED finds liquor transport racket

Hyderabad: The Enforcement Directorate’s probe into the alleged Andhra Pradesh liquor scam has uncovered an alleged transportation racket linked to the movement of liquor from depots to govt retail outlets.According to the investigation, a centralised liquor transportation tender floated by the Andhra Pradesh State Beverages Corporation Limited (APSBCL) in Oct 2020 was awarded at rates 15 to 20% higher than prevailing rates to a Delhi-based company, Sigma Supply Chain Solutions Pvt Ltd, which allegedly acted as a front entity for a syndicate. The ED is likely to arrest a few accused in the case soon.The agency found that the actual transportation operations were handled by entities and associates linked to the syndicate, while the contract generated about ₹349.78 crore in receipts from APSBCL between Oct 2021 and Mar 2024. Portions of these funds were diverted through shell companies, routed into real estate purchases, and layered through multiple entities to conceal the proceeds of crime, the ED alleged.The case centres on a centralised open tender floated by APSBCL on Oct 10, 2020, for liquor transportation across the state. Before this, transportation was handled depot-wise. The new centralised tender was awarded at about ₹33 per case per kilometre, with the value for the first year estimated at about ₹73 crore.The ED alleged that the tender was awarded to Sigma Supply Chain Solutions as part of a “fronting arrangement”. Under what the agency described as a “secret revenue-sharing agreement”, 95-96% of the revenue was allegedly retained by syndicate associates, while SSCSPL kept only 4% for its role as the “prime tender holder” for technical facilitation.SSCSPL sub-leased the actual work to MTEKKR Exports Pvt Ltd, also referred to as TEKKR, a company owned by syndicate member T Eswar Kiran Kumar Reddy, also known as Kiran Kumar. TEKKR allegedly managed manpower and local logistics. Kiran Kumar, according to ED, is a close associate of liquor scam mastermind Raj Reddy. The agency also named Anjani Kumar, director of Arroyo Services Pvt Ltd, as a “mediator and project director” who handled day-to-day operations and coordination with APSBCL. Saif Ahmed, an employee of TEKKR, allegedly handled finance-related work, logistics coordination and physical collection, and delivery of kickbacks to syndicate leaders.The agency alleged that D Vasudeva Reddy, former managing director of APSBCL, in connivance with the syndicate, abused his official position to float the tender and ensure that it was awarded to the fronted entity at inflated rates. Atul Kumar, director of SSCSPL, allegedly provided the corporate front for the syndicate to participate in and obtain the contract.