The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has issued a show-cause notice to Swetha Granites and Swetha Agencies owned by the family members of the Backward Class Welfare minister Gangula Kamalakar for violating the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA).
The ED officials identified irregularities in exporting granite material to China by Swetha granite companies.They paid only Rs.3 crores to the government and have to pay around Rs.50 crores.
In November last year, ED and Income Tax (IT) department officials conducted three-day raids at granite companies in Baopet of Kothapally mandal in Karimnagar district.
ED also searched the house of Gangula Kamalakar and his residence serves as the official address of Swetha Granites.
The officials visited Kakinada.
Krishnapatnam, Chennai and Visakhapatnam ports and during the inspection it was found that the size of the granites mentioned to the mines department was different from the actual size of export.The size of the granite was 7.6 lakh cubic meters which exceeded the permissible quantity.
Minister Gangula Kamalakar responded to the ED notices, saying that he had no information about ED notices.
He said that his family’s Shweta Granite and Shweta Agency have been doing business for 30 years.He said that they are ready to answer whatever the ED officials and IT department officials ask.
All the documents have already been submitted.He said that this is an issue that has been going on since 2008.Now it is nothing new.They disclosed that they did not market through hawala.He said granite was not sent abroad illegally.
