Rayapati Sambasiva Rao

Rayapati Sambasiva Rao, also known as Rao, is an Indian politician and a member of the 11th, 12th, 14th, 15th and 16th Lok Sabha. He was one of the youngest members to be elected to the Rajya Sabha at the age of 39. He represented the Narasaraopet and Guntur parliamentary constituency of Andhra Pradesh and currently is a member of the Telugu Desam Party. He is one of the promoters of Transstroy Ltd., against which Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is investigating an alleged fraud to the tune of $ 1,075 million.

Early life
Rao was born in Unguturu, Guntur district, Andhra Pradesh. His father, Venkata Ranga Rao, was a farmer and a follower of Shaivism. His mother, Sitaramamma was a housewife. Sambasivarao was eldest of the seven children. He completed his Secondary Education from Tadikonda and graduated from New Science College, Hyderabad.

Politics
He was inspired by the Indian National Congress, led by then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and his maternal uncle Gogineni Kanakaiah, who was also a prominent politician. He served as Sarpanch and President Panchayat Samithi, Tadikonda. He was elected as a member of the Rajya Sabha, and later elected to Lok Sabha for five terms.

Business
Rao is a promoter of Transstroy India Ltd., which is under CBI investigation. Investigations into the company operations revealed that it defrauded public sector banks to the tune of Rs.7,926 crores (~ $1,075 million). The said company has also defrauded Andhra Pradesh government by furnishing fake documentation of prior project work which were never executed.

According to the CBI report, the company borrowed around ₹9,000 crores from multiple banks over the years and then floated several non-existing companies in a bid to execute an elaborate plan to divert funds. As per one report in the Newsmeter, the accused apparently named maids, sweepers and drivers as directors of these absolutely fictitious companies. As per another CBI report from 2019 the company apparently made total purchases worth about ₹2,500 crores between 2016 and 2017. But according to EY's estimates, the company only made purchases worth ₹270 crores. The rest was most likely made up.

In another case, the company apparently purchased multiple machines with identical engine serial numbers from two different vendors.

Personal life
Sambasiva Rao is married to Leela Kumari. They have one son, Rayapati Ranga Rao and two daughters Devika Rani and Lakshmi.