Prima facie case of cheating, forgery, corruption against N Chandrababu Naidu: Special ACB Court

A special court at Vijayawada hearing cases investigated by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) of Andhra Pradesh on Sunday said that a prima facie case of cheating, criminal breach of trust, forgery and corruption was made out against former Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu in connection with the skill development program scam case..Special judge BSV Himabindu determined that the material on record prima facie made out a case against Naidu for offences under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) as well as the Prevention of Corruption Act.The Court further held that Naidu, while holding the office of the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, prima facie engaged in criminal conspiracy and colluded with others to cause misappropriation of government funds to the tune of ₹279 crore."The above material in the remand report, statement of witnesses, material collected in the CD File and accused alteration memo on record, prima facie shows that Accused no.37 in pursuance of criminal conspiracy, while holding his office as public servant colluded with other accused committed misappropriation of government funds to the tune of Rs.279 crores by corrupt and illegal methods huge loss to the Government Exchequer," the order stated.The Court also said that there was prima facie material to establish the nexus between Naidu and other accused and his role in approving the skill development project and its activities..Accordingly, the Court remanded Naidu to 14 days of judicial custody.However, given security concerns raised by the former CM, who holds Z plus security of the National Security Guard (NSG), the Court decided to remand him to Central Prison, Rajamahendravaram, which is well-equipped to accommodate high-profile accused..The case against Naidu centres around a scheme that purportedly diverted government funds intended for a skill development project into various shell companies through fraudulent invoices, which did not correspond with the delivery of services.According to the investigation, what initially began as a project primarily funded by technology partners, was unlawfully transformed into a government-funded venture through a tripartite agreement. This agreement was allegedly executed in violation of government orders, resulting in the release of ₹371 crore by the Government of Andhra Pradesh. Subsequently, these funds were purportedly misappropriated by officials of Siemens Industry Software (India) Private Limited and DesignTech System Private Limited, who failed to fulfill their obligations. The ACB probe claimed that at least ₹241 crore of the ₹371 crore allocated for the scheme was misappropriated..[Read order]