BENGALURU: Sleuths of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribe Welfare Corporation scam have recovered a total of Rs 11.7 crore so far from owners of bars, hotels and IT companies in Hyderabad and Bengaluru, to whom the illegal amount was allegedly transferred. SIT officials recovered Rs 3.5 crore from premises linked to the managing director of the corporation JG Padmanabha, on Thursday.
On Wednesday, SIT arrested two accused from Hyderabad who had allegedly opened fake accounts in a cooperative bank in Hyderabad, to which the funds were allegedly transferred. The accused are identified as Chandra Mohan and Satyanarayana Verma. SIT officials went to the houses of Verma’s relatives in Hyderabad, and recovered Rs 8.21 crore in cash, which was found in four suitcases. The police also seized a luxury (Lamborghini) car allegedly belonging to Verma.
A senior police officer told TNIE that during the probe, it was revealed that money from the corporation, which was transferred to 18 fake accounts opened by the two accused, was further transferred to more than 60 accounts belonging to various entities, including wine shops, bars, jewellery stores and small IT companies in Hyderabad and Bengaluru. Later, the money, totalling Rs 8.21 crore, was withdrawn from these bank accounts, which have been seized now.
So far, eight people have been arrested in connection with the alleged scam — MD JG Padmanabha, Accounts Officer Parashuram G, Cooperative Bank chairman Satyanarayana Itakari, Nagaraj, Nagesh, Jagdeesh, Chandra Mohan and Satyanarayana Verma.