The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has filed Prosecution Complaint under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, against habitual smuggler of red sanders - R. Selvaraj, M/s Sanjana Metalware India Pvt. Ltd., P. Vishnu Anand and D. L. Madhusudhan in a case relating to smuggling of red sanders before the Special PMLA Court, Visakhapatnam. The Court has taken cognizance of the Prosecution Complaint.
According to the officials, ED initiated investigation on the basis of FIR registered by Narayanavanam Police Station, Chittoor, Andhra Pradesh Police, under various Sections of IPC, Wildlife Protection Act, Biological Diversity Act and Arms Act for alleged possession and smuggling of red sandalwood and other related activities.
Subsequently, multiple FIRs against R. Selvaraj and others were registered by the A.P. Police under IPC, Arms Act, Biological Diversity Act, Wildlife Protection Act, AP State Forest Act among other sections. And the same were taken up within the ambit of ongoing investigation in the case.
ED investigation revealed that R. Selvaraj is a habitual offender involved in smuggling of red sanders and other associated criminal activities and has thereby generated huge amounts of proceeds of crime. The proceeds of crime were invested by him in acquiring several properties in his name and in the name of his family members’ along with his family-owned company
Earlier, ED had attached movable and immovable properties worth ₹2.74 crore belonging to R. Selvaraj, his family members and M/s Sanjana Metalware India Pvt. Ltd. in March 2022 which was confirmed by the Adjudicating Authority, PMLA, in September 2022.
Further investigation is under progress.
