The enforcement directorate (ED) on Saturday said it has frozen shares worth Rs 700 crore after raids against Karvy Stock Broking Limited (KSBL) CMD C. Parthasarathy and others as part of a money laundering investigation against them.

He is currently lodged in the Chanchalguda jail of Hyderabad after being arrested by the Telangana Police last month.

The ED searches were carried out on September 22 at six locations in Hyderabad and on various premises of the Karvy group of companies, connected entities and the residential premises of C. Parthasarathy, the agency said in a statement.

“Several incriminating evidences in the form of property documents, personal diaries, electronic devices and email dumps have been seized and are being analysed,” it said.

“It is reliably learnt that C. Parthasarathy is trying to off-load his shares in the group companies through private deals and thus, in order to preserve the proceeds of crime till further investigation, ED has issued a freezing order on September 24 and the estimated value of these shares has been arrived at Rs 700 crore as per the valuation for the year 2019-20,” it said.

These shares of the Karvy group are being held “directly and indirectly” by CMD Comandur Parthasarathy, his sons Rajat Parthasarathy and Adhiraj Parthasarathy, and their entities.

The ED case, filed under the criminal provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, is based on a Telangana Police FIR alleging KSBL had “illegally pledged the securities of its clients and taken a loan of Rs 329 crore and diverted the same.”