Hans News Service Amaravati

Thestate government has accorded sanction for the prosecution of former Andhra Pradesh State Beverages Corporation Limited (APSBCL) managing director Dontireddy Vasudeva Reddy in a money-laundering case linked to alleged irregularities in the liquor transportation tender process.

The state government on Wednesday granted permission for prosecution of Vasudeva Reddy in a case registered by the Enforcement Directorate under Section 197(1) of the CrPC, corresponding to Section 218 of BNSS (in connection with ECIR/HYZO/17/2026).

The ED case followed FIR No. 11/2026, registered by the APCID on February 10, against Vasudeva Reddy and others in connection with alleged irregularities in the APSBCL liquor transportation tender process. Vasudeva Reddy was appointed managing director of APSBCL in September 2019 and was subsequently appointed commissioner of distilleries and breweries in the State government.

The vigilance and enforcement investigation, as referred to by the ED, alleged that Vasudeva Reddy, in collusion with private individuals and alleged benami entities, replaced the existing decentralised district-wise liquor transportation system with a centralised state-level transportation policy without obtaining the required government approval.

The existing mechanism functioned through district-level committees and agreements. The ED investigation alleged that the decentralised system was dismantled and replaced with a centralised transportation arrangement based on allegedly false and misleading recommendations regarding transportation rates and labour-handling issues.

According to the the government, the centralised policy was implemented without categorical government approval for deviating from the existing framework. The government alleged that repeated extensions were granted to the transportation contracts awarded to Sigma Supply Chain Solutions Private Limited (SSCSPL) beyond their original tenure without mandatory government approval or intimation to the competent authorities.

The alleged manipulation resulted in transportation costs increasing from an average of about Rs 19.68 per carton box to as high as Rs 35.57 per carton box, causing an estimated wrongful loss of Rs 195.33 crore to the government exchequer, according to the material examined by the government.

The ED also alleged that proceeds generated through the transportation contracts were layered and diverted through shell entities and alleged fake vendors, including Bonvour, Casta Pink, Ezylod Network Pvt. Ltd. and RK Logistics, for allegedly concealing the origin of funds and distributing kickbacks and commissions among the accused, their associates and relatives.

In the final phase of the APSBCL transportation arrangement, the contract was allegedly awarded to Prasaad Transports, which the investigation described as a front entity allegedly used by Vasudeva Reddy’s brother-in-law, Vijaya Narasimha Reddy Marella (VNR), to participate in the tender process.

The order said the investigation found that the firm allegedly lacked the required experience, infrastructure and operational capability for liquor transportation but was positioned as the successful bidder through alleged manipulation of the tender process. The ED alleged that Vasudeva Reddy, while serving as APSBCL managing director, facilitated the award of the contract to the entity, enabling alleged unlawful financial gains to himself, his relatives and associates.

The Enforcement Directorate stated that sufficient material had been collected during the PMLA investigation indicating Vasudeva Reddy’s alleged involvement in money laundering. He was arrested by the ED on June 11, 2026, under Section 19 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act and was subsequently remanded to judicial custody by the Special Court dealing with PMLA cases.