KVP Ramachandra Rao, a close aide and political advisor of late CM YSR, is named by the Court along with Ukranian industrialist Dimitry Firtash and four others for their role in an $ 18.5 million transactions that are to bribe Indian officials for a titanium mining contract in Andhra Pradesh worth $500 million way back in 2006. Court alleged that Dimitry, who was arrested in March, met YSR at that time to start a joint venture between his company and AP government. In 2006, Dimitri’s subsidiary company Bothli Trade and AP government entered into a pact to mine limonite in the state, for which KVP is accused of collecting the bribe amount to secure the required licenses for the foreign company. The US court accused that Dimitry’s company allegedly used US financial institutions to engage transmission of dollars for bribing Indian officials.
Though Dmitry Firtash was released on bail with $174 million surety, there is no mention of what fate KVP Ramachandra Rao awaits in the USA court. But US authorities made it clear that criminal conspiracies that extend beyond their borders are not beyond their reach.
