Various offices of the Ramky Group, owned by YSRCP Rajya Sabha MP Ayodhya Rami Reddy, were raided by the Income Tax Department on Tuesday, July 6 in Hyderabad. Ayodhya Rami Reddy is the Chairman of the Ramky Group but is not currently listed as a director of any of these companies.
Investigators from the Income Tax Department raided a total of 15 properties belonging to the group, including the Ramky headquarters in Gachibowli, Hyderabad, according to reports. Sources told Times of India that the department was verifying claims of losses shown by the group companies of Ramky. There are reportedly hundreds of transactions between the companies belonging to the group which are linked to the MP’s family, reported the paper.
Ramky Group is also accused in the disproportionate assets cases of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had in 2013 attached properties belonging to Ramky Pharma City and Ramky Group under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) over the case.
The Ramky Group was accused of investing Rs 10 crore in Jagan-owned Jagati Publications. The group had bought shares paying 35 times the premium for the publication. Jagan is alleged to have used the influence of his father, YS Rajasekhara Reddy, the then Chief Minister of erstwhile Andhra Pradesh, to reduce the green belt area of Ramky Pharma City in Visakhapatnam. This quid-pro-quo was in violation of layout norms from 250 to 50 meters, according to the charge sheet filed by the ED.
As a YSRCP candidate, Ayodhya Rami Reddy ran for Narasaraopet parliamentary constituency in 2014 but lost. He was nominated to the Rajya Sabha in May 2020 after YSRCP came to power.