The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached assets of a Telangana-based company in connection with a money laundering case linked to the illegal manufacture of a scheduled drug, the federal agency said on Friday, February 5. A provisional order has been issued under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) to attach Rs 1.93 crore-worth fixed deposits of Hygro Chemicals Pharmtek Pvt Ltd located in Medak district of the state, it said in a statement.
The company is accused of "illegally manufacturing and dealing" in a scheduled drug identified as Dextro Propoxyphene Hydrochloride (DPP HCL). The ED launched a criminal probe against the company after studying a complaint filed by the Hyderabad office of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence.
Hygro Chemicals Pharmtek Pvt Ltd had a licence from the Central Bureau of Narcotics, Gwalior, to manufacture DPP HCL but the company "misused" it and illegally despatched 6,450 kg of the drug to a partnership concern called J K Pharma Agencies, New Delhi, during 2004-2006, and they mis-declared the same as some other chemical, the ED said.
DPP HCL, it said, can be used as a raw material to make narcotic substances.
The drug was then illegally sold at the rate of Rs 3,000 per kg, and thus, the accused company generated proceeds of crime worth Rs 1,93,50,000, the ED said.
Meanwhile, the Gachibowli police in Cyberabad has also registered a First Information Report (FIR) against another company named Indusviva Health Sciences Private Limited according to a report in Telangana Today. The company had been involved in multi-level marketing scams. The ED attached assets worth around Rs 66 crore and further initiated a money laundering investigation based on the FIR.
Upon investigation, it was found that the founders of the company diverted funds to a subsidiary company and to their personal accounts. These were used to acquire immovable assets to the tune of Rs 50.47 crore in the name of companies and individuals. The founders were arrested by ED on December 15, 2021 and are in judicial custody presently, as per the report.
With PTI inputs