Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, who was remanded in judicial custody for 14 days Monday, grew faster than the Ambanis, Tatas and the Birlas, CBI told a special court here demanding police custody for the Kadapa MP.

The agency said while collecting wealth, Mr Reddy caused losses of more than Rs12,000 crore to the public exchequer.
From being worth Rs36 lakh in 2003-04, the Kadapa MP YS Jagan Mohan Reddy emerged to become the richest MP with an asset base of Rs365 crore for himself and another Rs40 crore for his wife Bharathi by 2011. According to the I-T returns of Jagan in 2003-04 his declared assets were worth Rs36 lakh. In the following year, his assets were at Rs6.6 crore. However, according to an affidavit filed by him in 2011, his assets were at Rs365 crore.

Between 2003 and 2010, Jagan floated at least 36 companies to expand his business empire supporting the exponential growth in his wealth. However, the CBI has alleged that most of the funds that have come into Jagan’s accounts were routed through a quid pro quo arrangement with the industrialists and at least 22 firms were floated to be briefcase companies only to make use of them to route the illegally gotten monies.

CBI counsel and additional solicitor general Ashok Bhanu justified Mr Reddy's arrest saying he deprived the poor and enriched himself by Rs350 crore in four years. He said this was an unfortunate case of white-collar crime.

Rubbishing Mr Reddy’s claim that he was being victimised, Mr Bhanu said, "The other arrested accused have revealed few facts. We understand transactions were done exclusively in the knowledge of Mr Reddy and we need to confront him."

He told the court evidence pointed out that there were clear quid-pro-quo deals wherein Mr Reddy influenced his father, the late YSR, to allot SEZ lands to companies that invested in his companies.

The court, however, dismissed the CBI plea for police custody saying the agency failed to arrest Mr Reddy at an appropriate time.