Hyderabad, May 16 (IANS): High flying Andhra Pradesh industrialist Nimmagadda Prasad has been arrested for alleged benefits received during the rule of late chief minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy in return for the massive investments he made in his son's businesses.

Prasad, popularly known as Matrix Prasad in the industrial circles after his pharmaceutical firm Matrix laboratories, was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) late Tuesday in connection with the alleged illegal assets case of Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy.

The arrest comes six months after Koneru Prasad, who had immense clout in Dubai and other emirates, was arrested in the Emaar-APIIC township scam.

Nimmagadda Prasad, 51 and son of an army officer, had allegedly invested Rs.504 crore in the companies of the MP from Kadapa.

The CBI is probing the allotment of 15,500 acres of land by the Rajasekhara Reddy government to Vadrarevu and Nizampatnam Port & Industrial Corridor (Vanpic), a proposed world-class port and an integrated industrial cluster. Prasad's Matrix Enport and the government of Ras Al Khaimah (UAE) are the two promoters of Vanpic.

The CBI believes Gilchrist Investments Pvt Ltd, Alpha Villas Pvt Ltd and Alpha Avenues Pvt Ltd, all companies floated by Prasad, made the huge investments into Jaganmohan Reddy's firms as a quid pro quo for the government land allotted for the Vanpic project.

Coming from an humble background, Prasad began his business career as a sales officer in a multinational company in 1989 and went on to build a business empire spanning sectors like pharma, software, infrastructure and media.

Prasad's meteoric rise brought him closer to both former chief ministers N. Chandrababu Naidu and Rajasekhara Reddy.

Once considered as the man with the Midas touch, he is a member of the executive board of the prestigious Indian School of Business. He is also on the boards of Sakshi newspapers, television channel and Bharati Cements owned by Jagan and also on boards of Care Hospitals and Asian Institute of Gastroenterology. He also has stakes in MAA Television.