Liquor kickbacks bankrolled YSRCP's polls, African forays: AP probe
Andhra Pradesh police
into the alleged ₹3,500 crore
liquor scam
points to a well-oiled web of kickbacks paid by private distillers once in five days, involvement of gold merchants to facilitate bribes and use of payoffs by former chief minister Y S Jaganmohan Reddy's
YSRCP
in
2024 elections
.
The 317-page chargesheet, filed in a Vijaywada court and accessed by ET, names Reddy's former advisor
Kesireddy Raja Shekhar Reddy
as the mastermind of the alleged scam and former Rajya Sabha MP Vijai Sai Reddy and Lok Sabha MP P V Midhun Reddy as co-accused.
The state CID has alleged in the chargesheet that YSRCP functionaries facilitated a policy change-from an automated market-driven system of raising demand for liquor cases to a manual system-to edge out known brands and promote selected manufacturers and distilleries who were coerced into paying kickbacks.
According to the chargesheet, officials who were willing to play along were posted in Andhra Pradesh State Beverages Corporation Limited (APSBCL). Though Reddy had promised complete prohibition and the new liquor policy introduced in 2019 was touted as a step towards this election promise, the reverse happened with specific brands capturing the market.
"Even though the new policy i.e., sale of liquor through GROs, was intended as a step towards complete ban of liquor in the state of Andhra Pradesh, it only envisaged a new mode and manner of sale, but not otherwise. Evidently, the policy was introduced with an underlying intent of having full control over the supply and sale of liquor, thereby to achieve their broader goal of earning commissions/kickbacks," the chargesheet said.
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According to the CID probe, the kickbacks were handed over to main accused Kesireddy Rajashekar Reddy, who allegedly channelled the money into a web of shell companies, before distributing it among others. The chargesheet pegs the monthly kickbacks at ₹50-60 crore and overall extent at ₹3,570.87 crore. The chargesheet alleges kickback per case of liquor. It says while the kickback was ₹150 per case for cheaper brands, it was ₹200-350 for medium priced and ₹600 for more expensive brands.
The state CID has alleged that money from kickbacks was used during elections in 2024 and after YSRCP lost, it scouted for iron ore business in African countries to channel this money. The chargesheet names former MLA Chevireddy Bhaskar Reddy and says he was instrumental in moving cash from Hyderabad and other locations to specific constituencies.
"During the course of investigation into the present crime, it was revealed that Chevireddy Bhaskar Reddy would direct his close aides to transport cash from Hyderabad, Vijayawada and other places to several constituencies around Prakasam and Chittoor," the chargesheet said.
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