The Enforcement Directorate, probing the alleged siphoning of funds from Associated Broadcasting Company Ltd (ABCL) which promoted popular television channel TV9, has sought penal action against the company’s ex-chief executive officer Ravi Prakash.
In an affidavit submitted before the Nampally criminal courts, the ED said Ravi Prakash, who had been evading summons for questioning in the case, has not submitted certain documents for the investigation.
Since there has been no response from Ravi Prakash till now, the ED asked the court to take action against him under Sections 174 and 175 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), which calls for general imprisonment for a period of one month to six months, besides penalty.
The Banjara Hills police in Hyderabad in October 2019 booked a case against Ravi Prakash under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) on the charges of alleged siphoning of funds from the company.
The case was filed following a complaint lodged by G Singa Rao, whole-time director of the ABCL that Ravi Prakash and two of his associates had withdrawn Rs 18 crore from the company unauthorizedly in the name of bonus between September 2018 and May 2019. The cases were booked under Section 418, 420 and 409 of the IPC.
Since, the offences under section 418 and section 420 of IPC are scheduled offence under Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, the ED took over the investigation, as this was a prima facie case of an offence of money laundering appear to have been committed under Section 3 of PMLA.
Though the ED issued summons to Ravi Prakash on January 13, 27, February 7 and 9 in 2021, he did not attend the hearings personally.
He sent e-mails to the authorities citing various pretexts for not honouring the summons.
The ED asked the court to direct the accused to appear before the investigating authorities for inquiry and extend their cooperation in the investigation by submitting all the relevant records in connection with the inquiry and punish them with the maximum sentence as per law for the above said offences.
