Enforcement Directorate raids realty firms in Rs 50 crore money laundering probe

Hyderabad: The Enforcement Directorate conducted searches at four locations in Hyderabad on Wednesday as part of an ongoing probe into money laundering involving real estate companies. The raids focused on premises linked to Sai Surya Developers and Bhagyanagar Properties, promoted by K Satish Chandra Gupta and Narendra Surana, respectively.

According to ED officials, the total alleged fraud amounts to approximately Rs 50 crore. Searches were carried out at Satish Gupta’s office in Motinagar and his residence in Film Nagar, while Surana’s residence in Secunderabad and his office on SP Road were also searched. Evidence pertaining to several financial transactions was discovered at both real estate offices, and unaccounted cash was recovered from Surana’s premises.

The ED’s intervention follows an FIR registered by the Cyberabad police’s economic offences wing, which led to the arrest of the two promoters in Nov 2024. The accused are alleged to have defrauded a client by collecting Rs 1.45 crore as an advance for a plot in a fabricated, unauthorised layout.

Police said that Satish Gupta, a native of Nellore, and Surana were accused of creating fictitious ventures—Sai Tulasi Enclave–IV and Shanmukha Nivas—on the same parcel of land in Vattinagulpally. The duo allegedly entered into a sale agreement with Pothuganti Gopal Reddy, a resident of Nacharam, for Rs 3.25 crore and received a partial payment in Feb 2023. However, the promised registration never took place, and the accused absconded after collecting the funds, according to police.

Investigators said that Satish Gupta was implicated in 11 similar cases previously registered against him, all involving fraudulent real estate schemes executed with a similar modus operandi. The latest ED raids were focused on tracing the proceeds of the crime and identifying assets that may have been acquired through these laundered funds, sources said.