CBI arrests Emaar executive

HYDERABAD: In a move suggesting speeding up of the probe into the Emaar scam, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Saturday  arrested Emaar MGF Land Pvt Ltd (Emaar MGF) South India Finance Head G Vijay Raghavan.This is the third arrest in the case after Koneru Prasad and N Sunil Reddy, close aide of Kadapa MP Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy.  The investigation agency produced 44-year-old Raghavan, who is said to have exclusive knowledge of the irregularities in sale of villas, before the Economic Offence Court. Magistrate R Sudhakar Naidu sent him to judicial custody till January 30. But the CBI officials filed a petition seeking Raghavan’s police custody and shifted him to Chanchalguda Central Prison.Vijay Raghavan was arrested Saturday morning from his residence at Srinagar colony and taken to the Dilkusha Guest house before being produced in court. In the remand dairy, CBI said that Raghavan has knowledge of transactions pertaining to the sale of as many as 40 villas whose documented price was Rs 5,000 per square yard but was sold at rates as high as Rs 50,000 per square yard. CBI also said that Raghavan was involved in transporting the excess money collected from the buyers to Delhi and other places.The integrated Emaar Hills Township project was a joint venture between Emaar MGF Land Pvt Ltd and Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (APIIC).The project comprised construction of a golf course, club house, boutique hotel. Township, Convention centre and business hotel on 535 acres of land at Manikonda and leased land at HITEX. While in 2002, the equity of APIIC was kept at 26 per cent for the Township project and 49 per cent for the hotel and convention centre, in 2005 the government revised the equity to 26 per cent. But the villas were alleged to be documented as being sold at Rs 5,000 per square yard, a price much below the market value, causing huge loss to APIIC. CBI said that Raghavan has exclusive knowledge of these dealings and has filed a petition seeking 15-days police custody in order to interrogate him. He was arrested under sections 120-B (criminal conspiracy) read with section 420 (cheating), 409 (criminal breach of trust), 477 (fraudulent cancellation) and section 13(2) read with section 13(1)(C) and (D) of Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. The magistrate has posted the hearing on the petition to January 30. The key accused in the case Koneru Prasad is currently lodged in Chanchalguda Central prison while N Sunil Reddy is being interrogated by the CBI.