Andhra ex-CM Naidu arrested in Rs 550-cr skill development fraud case

Amaravati, September 9

TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu was arrested in connection with an alleged Rs 550 crore fraud case involving misappropriation of funds from Skill Development Corporation, AP CID Chief N Sanjay said on Saturday.

Addressing reporters after Naidu’s arrest, the police officer said the investigation implicated Naidu and the TDP as beneficiaries of misappropriation of funds.

“The case revolves around the establishment of clusters of Centres of Excellence (CoEs) in Andhra Pradesh, with a total estimated project value of Rs 3,300 crore. The alleged fraud has caused huge losses to the Andhra Pradesh Government in excess of Rs 300 crore,” said Sanjay, addressing a press conference in Mangalagiri.

About the scam

• The case involved alleged misappropriation of funds while setting up a centre of excellence and five technical skill development centres between 2015 and 2019 during Naidu’s tenure as Chief Minister
• The state government had entered into an agreement with Siemens Industrial Software India and Design Tech Systems for setting up the skill development centres
• The private entities were to contribute 90% of the funds for setting up the centres and running skill development programmes with the remaining 10% coming from the state government
• Post 2019, a CID probe was initiated by the YSRCP government into the role of the private companies and the previous government in the setting up of these centres
• The CID probe found that the private entities allegedly did not spend their share of the cost while the state government’s share of 10% — amounting to about Rs 371 crore — was allegedly misappropriated

Reacting to his arrest, Naidu in a post on X (formerly Twitter), said, “For the past 45 years, I have selflessly served Telugu people. I am prepared to sacrifice my life to safeguard the interests of the people. No force on earth can stop me from serving them, my Andhra Pradesh and my motherland.”

Elaborating further, the CID chief said, “Naidu is considered the principal conspirator behind the scheme, orchestrating the transfer of public funds to private entities via shell companies, resulting in a loss to the public exchequer and private gains.” Naidu possesses the exclusive knowledge of transactions leading to the issuing of government orders and MoUs from time to time which makes him the “central figure” of the investigation, he said, adding Naidu’s custodial interrogation was required.