Money laundering probe widens Valmiki case
BENGALURU: The money laundering probe into the alleged financial irregularities in the Karnataka ‘Valmiki corporation’ is set to get wider, with investigators bringing under their scanner a number of government and private individuals who are suspected to have obtained slush funds worth crores of rupees, official sources said Thursday.
The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) is also expected to share a report with the Election Commission (EC) about alleged electoral malpractices taking place. The ED had recently claimed that a ‘substantial’ amount of funds “misappropriated” from the Corporation was used to purchase liquor during the Lok Sabha elections apart from some luxury vehicles.
The role of Additional Director of state Social Welfare Department B Kallesh, who claimed that the officials of the federal agency were pressuring him to name Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, arrested former minister and Congress MLA B Nagendra and the finance department, has also come under an ‘enhanced scrutiny’ after it was gathered that he was recently suspended by the state government on charges of corruption in his department.
Kallesh had identified the two ED officers as Deputy Director Manoj Mittal and Assistant Director Murali Kannan.
The state police registered an FIR against two ED officers posted in Bengaluru on the complaint of Kallesh, which, as per the sources, is understood to have been made ‘under pressure’ from some high-ranking persons in order to get a relief in the suspension case probe being carried out against him.
The alleged corruption charges against Kallesh are being looked into by the ED, and the CBI, which is also probing the case, the sources said.
The ED, after filing of the police complaint, moved the Karnataka High Court seeking relief and quashing of the FIR against its officers saying this was a “counterblast” to exert ‘undue influence’ in the probe being conducted in the misappropriation of funds from the Karnataka Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation Limited.
The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) is also expected to share a report with the Election Commission (EC) about alleged electoral malpractices taking place