Hyderabad: The Andhra Pradesh liquor scam has taken a wider corporate fraud dimension, with the Serious Fraud Investigation Office initiating a probe into multiple companies linked to the case. The development has expanded the investigation beyond alleged financial irregularities into suspected violations of company law. Even as the case remains under the scrutiny of the Enforcement Directorate and state-level agencies.
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SFIO Probe Expands Corporate Scrutiny
According to sources, the investigation is focused on companies allegedly controlled by a liquor syndicate and granted disproportionately large business volumes. These firms are suspected to have been used for fund diversion, layered transactions and the operation of a structured kickback system.
Investigators have flagged Adan Distilleries, linked to Kasichayanula Srinivas and Muppidi Anirudh Reddy, for conducting business worth about ₹732 crore between May 2020 and December 2022 despite allegedly lacking its own manufacturing infrastructure. The company reportedly operated by leasing production facilities and is alleged to have been set up at the behest of key figures in the syndicate.
The Enforcement Directorate has claimed that around ₹135 crore was paid as kickbacks through Adan Distilleries, strengthening suspicions that it functioned as a shell company to divert funds.
Distilleries and Kickback Trail Under Lens
Leela Distilleries has also emerged as a key entity in the investigation. Initially owned by Nagalingam Jayamurugan and Nallannan Mathappan, the firm was later allegedly taken over by the syndicate. Investigators suspect that it was used as a special purpose vehicle to sustain a 20% kickback model, with transactions routed through dummy directors and fictitious vendors to conceal the money trail.
UV Distilleries, operated by Teegala Upender Reddy and Dr Teegala Vijender Reddy and managed by Booneti Chanakya, is also under scrutiny. The company reportedly secured large orders from the Andhra Pradesh State Beverages Corporation Limited and generated business of around ₹230 crore. Authorities suspect that inflated billing and manipulated vendor payments were used to siphon off funds.
The probe has now moved beyond distillery firms to logistics and transportation companies. Sigma Supply Chain Solutions and Tekkr Exports and Imports are alleged to have received tenders at inflated rates and later subleased contracts to other syndicate-linked firms. Investigators believe this multilayered structure may have been designed to obscure the movement of funds.
Shell Firms, Real Estate Links Draw Attention
Entities such as Arroyo Services and Ezyload Network are suspected of facilitating fund transfers without providing actual services. Investigators have also identified Prime Services as a shell entity that allegedly issued fake invoices despite having no operational setup.
Mumbai-based firms Olwick Multiventures and Nysna Multiventures have come under the scanner for allegedly being used to layer transactions, with funds later diverted into gold and bullion dealings. TAG Developers is accused of routing unaccounted cash through backdated agreements to legitimise illicit funds. Companies such as Eshanvi Infra Projects and ED Entertainment are suspected to have been used to invest in residential projects and acquire immovable assets, further complicating the financial trail.
Sources in corporate affairs indicate that the SFIO will examine beneficial ownership patterns, the role of directors and the alleged misuse of corporate structures across these entities. A central focus of the inquiry will be how complex company networks were allegedly created to layer transactions, disguise the origin of funds and evade regulatory scrutiny.
