The Directorate of Enforcement (ED), Visakhapatnam Sub-Zonal Office, has provisionally attached movable and immovable assets worth ₹1.09 crore under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, in a case relating to disproportionate assets allegedly acquired by former Additional Chief Urban Planner of the Visakhapatnam Urban Development Authority, Pasuparthy Pradeep Kumar.
The attached properties, held in the names of Mr. Pradeep Kumar, his wife, his uncle and a benami, Kona Simhadri, include residential flats, plots and bank balances.
In a release issued on Wednesday, the ED said the investigation was initiated based on an FIR registered by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), Vijayawada, which later filed a chargesheet against Mr. Pradeep Kumar under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.
According to the chargesheet, Mr. Pradeep Kumar joined government service in 1984 and was posted to VUDA as Additional Chief Urban Planner in January 2018. During the offence period from July 2005 to January 2018, he allegedly abused his official position and acquired assets in his own name and in the names of family members and benamis from unaccounted sources. The ACB assessed the disproportionate assets at about ₹1.85 crore.
The ED said its investigation revealed that the illicit income was routed through multiple bank accounts and used to acquire properties, which were projected as untainted money. The total proceeds of crime were estimated at ₹2.94 crore, exceeding the amount calculated by the ACB. Accordingly, assets worth ₹1.09 crore, representing the differential amount, have been attached.
Further investigation is under progress.
Published – December 24, 2025 08:13 pm IST
