ED Restores Properties To Agrigold Scheme Victims

The Enforcement Directorate (ED), Hyderabad Zonal Office, today restored attached properties worth approximately Rs 3,339 crore (at the time of attachment) to the victims of the Agri Gold Ponzi scheme.

The current market value of these properties is estimated to exceed Rs 6,000 crore.

The Special Court (PMLA) of the Metropolitan Sessions Judge, Hyderabad, approved the ED's restitution application of February 21, 2025.

The assets, comprising over 2,300 agricultural, residential and commercial properties, as well as the Haailand amusement park in Andhra Pradesh, will now be transferred to the Crime Investigation Department (CID) of Andhra Pradesh for victim compensation under the Andhra Pradesh Protection of Depositors of Financial Establishments (APPDFE) Act, 1999.

The ED had initiated its investigation into Agri Gold in 2018 after multiple FIRs were registered across Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Odisha and Andaman & Nicobar Islands.

The Ponzi scheme, operated under the guise of a real estate business, had collected nearly Rs 6,380 crore by duping approximately 19 lakh investors and 32 lakh account holders by promising them high returns or residential plots.

The funds were misused across industries such as power, dairy, entertainment and health, while investors were left without their promised benefits.

During the probe, the ED attached movable and immovable assets worth Rs 4,141.2 crore and arrested key Agri Gold promoters - Avva Venkata Rama Rao, Avva Venkata Seshu Narayana Rao and Avva Hema Sundara Vara Prasad - in December 2020.

The agency filed prosecution complaints against 14 accused in February 2021, and a supplementary complaint against 22 more in March 2024.