Chandrababu-regime skill development scam under ED scanner; notices to 26

HYDERABAD: The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) has served notices on 26 persons in connection with the Rs 241 crore scam in Andhra Pradesh State Skill Development Corporation (APSSDC) during the regime of Chandrababu Naidu. The persons summoned for questioning by the Central agency include its then chairman and director and all have been asked to appear at his Hyderabad office for questioning on Monday.

The Andhra Pradesh Crime Investigation Department (AP CID) has, in the past, registered a case after massive-scale irregularities were detected between 2014-19 with regard to a deal signed with Siemens Industry Software (India) Private Limited. The Andhra Pradesh Skill Development Corporation signed a Rs 3,350-crore deal with the company. With a 10 percent share in the deal, the state government was supposed to invest Rs 370 crores for the project.

The investigating agency identified that Rs 241 crores from this investment, meant for the setting up of skill development centres, had been siphoned off and it came out during a forensic audit conducted in the skill development corporation. It was reportedly found that the investments were siphoned off by diverting the funds to fictitiously created shell companies.

Former chairman of the corporation Ghanta Subba Rao, former director Lakshminarayana and OSD Krishna Prasad are among those who were served notices by the ED for questioning.

the CID arrested Ghanta Subba Rao (A1), Soumyadri Sekhar Bose (A6), Vikas Vinayak Khanvelkar (A8), Shirish Chandrakant Shah (A5) and Mukul Agarwal (A10) and produced them before the ACB Special Court magistrate, who sent them to judicial remand till December 24 last year.

In 2021, the CID had arrested Ghanta Subba Rao (A1), Soumyadri Sekhar Bose (A6), Vikas Vinayak Khanvelkar (A8), Shirish Chandrakant Shah (A5) and Mukul Agarwal (A10).

According to reports, DesignTech Systems Private Limited and Siemens Industry Software (India) Private Limited had entered into an agreement with Andhra Pradesh Skill Development Corporation, Vijayawada, (APSSDC) in 2015. The deal was meant for setting up and operating skill development centres in Andhra Pradesh. The deal involved establishment of six centres of Excellence and 34 Technical Skill Development Institutes in which DesignTech was expected to set up Robotic Lab, CNC Machines Lab, Auto Body Repair and Body Paint Lab, Lift Maintenance Lab and deployment of trainers, among others.

Later, DesignITech had allegedly subcontracted a large part of this work to a suspected shell company, PVSP/Skillar Enterprise India Private Limited. The invoices issued by PVSP/Skillar Enterprise Limited were part of the subcontract by DesignTech for APSSDC project and subsequently PVSP/Skillar Enterprise India Private Limited had allegedly issued the fake invoices showing provision of the same services to DesignTech. PVSP/Skillar also reportedly received fake invoices from many other shell companies including ACI Asia Limited, Patrick Infosystems, among others.

During an investigation carried out by the officials of the DGGI, Pune, in 2018, it was allegedly found out that DesignTech Systems Private Limited also received fake Invoices from ACI Asia Limited, which is also a suspected shell company.

And on the other hand in December 2021, the AP CID team, following its investigation, lodged an FIR against former Director of APSSDC K Lakshminarayana, Special officer to the former secretary Nimmagadda Venkata Krishna Prasad, Management of Pune-based company DesignTech Systems Private Limited, Shirish Shah of Allied Computers International (Asia) Limited. Former Director of Siemens Industry Software (India) Private Limited Soumyadri Shekhar Bose, APSSDC former CFO Pratap Kumar Kar, Managing Director of DesignTech Systems Private Limited Vikas Vinayak Khanvelkar, DesignTech Systems Limited President (Product Sales) Sanjay Daga, Skiller Enterprises India Private Limited Chief Operating Officer Mukul Agarwal besides 16 others that includes IAS and government officials.