BENGALURU: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is now moving in to identify and valuate some immovable properties of incarcerated Congress leader DK Shivakumar for proposed attachment under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). Shivakumar was arrested in September this year by the ED for allegedly laundering crores of rupees.
According to highly-placed sources, a team of government-approved valuators, accompanied by some ED officers, had gone to inspect and valuate Shivakumar’s flat number 201, B-5 in the upscale Safdarjung Enclave, New Delhi, on Monday. It is from this flat that the Directorate of Income Tax (Investigation), Karnataka & Goa, during a search and seizure operation in August 2017, had reportedly seized Rs 6, 61, 26,000, which reportedly belonged to Shivakumar.
The I-T had seized around Rs 10 crore in the search and seizure operations against Shivakumar, and had questioned his four associates - Sunil Kumar Sharma (proprietor of Sharma Transport), Sachin Narayan (business associate), Anjaneya Hanumanthaiah (employee at Karnataka Bhawan, New Delhi) and N Rajendra, who is a former state government employee in the case. The DGIT had submitted a chargesheet against the five under sections of the Income Tax Act and Indian Penal Code.
The ED had earlier questioned Shivakumar on the source of Rs 10 crore cash that was allegedly recovered during the Income Tax raids on August 2, 2017, from the four properties in Delhi and in Karnataka, which are said to be linked to him and his four associates. During the course of investigation, Rajendra had reportedly told the Income Tax officials that in January 2017, cash in crores was allegedly sent to the AICC on the alleged instructions of Shivakumar, another Congress leader V Mulgund and Anjaneya.
The ED had submitted before the special court that 46 individuals, including Shivakumar, his family and associates, reportedly Rs 200 crore laundered money stashed in 317 bank accounts. Their accounts are under scrutiny. The Congress leader also has alleged ‘benami’ assets worth over Rs 800 crore, the agency stated. Shivakumar has, however, denied the allegations.