The accused, who formed a syndicate to collect commissions or kickbacks from the distillery companies, had collected about ₹3,500 crore from 2019 to 2024, said the charge sheet filed in the court on Monday on the alleged liquor scam that occurred during the YSRCP regime.
Reiterating the statement in the Remand Report filed against MP P.V. Midhun Reddy, earlier in the day, the charge sheet also stated that the former CM of A.P., Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, was one of the recipients of the kickbacks.
The syndicate members gave purchase orders to the companies which agreed to their demand to pay commissions, suppressed the regular and popular brands, promoted new liquor brands, coerced the company managements to pay commissions, opened government retail outlets, and maintained a manual system as per their convenience to collect huge amounts, it was stated.
Many officers of various departments were roped in to manipulate the system. The distillery companies were threatened to transfer money to various shell companies abroad, bullion traders, banks, fake accounts, and finally, the money was routed to the accused, as per the charge sheet.
Investigation officers identified that AP State Beverages Corporation Limited (APSBCL) paid huge amounts to more than 40 distillery companies, which paid commissions to the tune of ₹3,500 crore to the accused. “The ill-gotten money was invested in hawala transactions in Dubai, UAE, Delhi, Hyderabad and other places. A detailed investigation is on into the hawala transactions,” SIT said in the charge sheet.
The accused interacted over mobile phones, VoIP calls, social media groups, and held conference calls regularly to discuss the kickbacks received from various companies. They appointed youth to collect the commissions from the liquor companies and supervisors to monitor the illegal transactions. The distillery companies which gave kickbacks paid the money to the accused in the form of loans, real estate, jewellery, posh vehicles, villas besides depositing cash in shell companies, registered through illegal means. “SIT has established the involvement of some bureaucrats, public representatives and others in the scam. Investigation is on to confirm the role of several other officials of different departments in the multi-crore liquor syndicate,” the investigation officers said.
The accused resorted to forgery, criminal breach of trust, cheating, misappropriation of money, disappearance of evidence, misuse of powers and corruption, as per the charge sheet.
The NTR District police seized ₹8.37 crore, which was collected as commission by the syndicate members, at Garipadu check-post on the A.P.-Telangana borders, while it was being transported to Hyderabad before the 2024 elections. The accused shifted ₹8 to 9 crore in trunk boxes several times to Tirupati, Prakasam district, Hyderabad and other places. “Of the total 29 accused, suspects and witnesses in liquor scam, 21 were hiding in India, two escaped to Thailand and six to UAE,” the investigation officers said.
Published – July 21, 2025 09:54 pm IST
