CHITRADURGA: The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) on Tuesday confiscated six SUVs belonging to Chitradurga Congress MLA KC Veerendra.
According to informed sources, the ED officials also tried to open the locker belonging to the MLA at the Challakere branch of a private bank. However, due to the non-availability of keys, the locker was not open till late in the evening.
The raid, which began around afternoon, continued till evening. The ED is probing multiple “shell” companies and casinos in countries like Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Georgia in a money laundering case against the arrested Congress MLA KC Veerendra ‘Puppy,’ according to official sources. Veerendra has been in the custody of the central agency ever since his arrest in Sikkim.
He was taken into custody by the agency following multi-state raids against him, his family members, and some others in an alleged illegal online and offline betting case.
The ED has linked the Chitradurga MLA with the operations of five casinos in Goa named Puppy’s Casino Gold, Ocean Rivers Casino, Puppy’s Casino Pride, Ocean 7 Casino, and Big Daddy Casino, apart from some other online betting sites. Approximately Rs 12 crore in cash, including Rs 1 crore in foreign currency, gold jewelry worth approximately Rs 6 crore, silver articles weighing around 10 kg, and four SUVs were seized under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002. ED also froze 17 bank accounts and two bank lockers.
The Bengaluru Zonal Office of the ED conducted raids on August 22 and 23 at 31 locations across India, including Gangtok, Challakere in Chitradurga district, Bengaluru, Hubballi, Jodhpur, Mumbai, and Goa.