During questioning of the Emaar villa owners, the investigating agency CBI brought to fore a convicted cheat, who also happens to be owner of a villa in Emaar Boulder Hills project. He is none other than the managing director of 'Surya' Telugu newspaper, Nukarapu Surya Prakash Rao.

The CBI on Wednesday produced Nukarapu Surya Prakash Rao in the CBI special court in connection with a cheating case. The investigating agency urged the court to send him to jail as he was already convicted and sentenced to two years imprisonment in the case. The AP High Court too upheld the sentence imposed on him. This case and his subsequent conviction came to the fore when the CBI summoned him and questioned him about his villa in the Emaar case.

The CBI Special Court Judge Naga Maruti Sarma, however bailed him out for a day against a personal bond of Rs. 25000/. Surya Prakash Rao produced some papers claiming that the Supreme Court after hearing his plea that raised certain health concerns gave him two weeks time to show proof for the same. He said he was seeking some time to surrender in the court on health grounds. The judge posted the case to Thursday for decidng the matter.

The politician turned media baron Surya Prakash Rao was convicted for entering into a conspiracy with the officials of Somajiguda branch of Vijaya Bank in 1987 and got a loan of Rs 2.67 crore sanctioned to two fictitious firms. These two firms promised to help the bank mobilize deposits in return for housing loans to several persons sponsored by them. The housing loans sanctioned by the bank were swallowed up by the fictitious firms. The court found certain bank officials and Rao guilty and convicted them for two years of imprisonment. Though Suryaprakasa Rao challenged it in the high court, it did not give him any relief and upheld the trial court's order. The trial court later issued an arrest warrant against Suryaprakasa Rao.
 
Interestingly, he was earlier also questioned by the CBI in the disproportionate assets case against YSR Congress Party President Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy. However, the arrest was made in the Vijaya Bank cheating case. Suryaprakash Rao was once considered a close confidante of former Chief Minister late Y S Rajasekhar Reddy. There were allegations that he had encroached upon a prime land at Nadargul on the city outskirts. Subsequently, he switched political loyalty to Telugu Desam Party just before the 2009 elections and contested from Anakapalli Lok Sabha seat on TDP ticket but was defeated.