The central agency has, to date, attached properties worth ₹400 crore and claims that these properties are listed under housing cooperative societies and individuals acting as “front/dummy” for influential figures, including MUDA officials, they stated.
“The 92 MUDA sites attached by the ED are in addition to the prior attachment of 160 MUDA sites valued at roughly ₹300 crore,” the ED noted.
The total market value of the proceeds of crime provisionally attached thus far is around ₹400 crore, it added.
“ED commenced an investigation following an FIR lodged by the Lokayuktha Police Mysore under various sections of the IPC, 1860, and the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, against Shri Siddaramaiah and others, the current Chief Minister of Karnataka,” a statement from the agency stated, mentioning that the attachment occurred on Monday.
The ED investigation uncovered a “large-scale scam” in the allotment of MUDA sites due to violations of several statutes and government orders/guidelines, along with other fraudulent activities,” it reported.
The involvement of former MUDA commissioners, including GT Dinesh Kumar, has been identified as crucial in the wrongful allocation of compensation sites to ineligible entities and individuals, said the ED.
The central probe agency has collected evidence indicating bribe transactions related to illegal allotments taking forms such as cash, bank transfers, and both movable and immovable assets, it noted.
The modus operandi disclosed by the agency revealed that illegal allotments were granted to ineligible beneficiaries using falsified and incomplete documents, in direct contravention of government orders, including instances of backdating allotment letters.
“The benefits received for facilitating these illegal allotments were channeled through a cooperative society and the bank accounts of relatives/associates of the officials significantly involved in the allotment process. The benefits thus obtained were further utilized to acquire some of these illegally allotted MUDA sites in the names of relatives of MUDA officers,” the ED stated.
