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(ED) on Tuesday provisionally attached 92 immovable properties valued at approximately ₹100 crore in connection. Read further on Dynamite News
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah (Source: Internet)
Bengaluru: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday provisionally attached 92 immovable properties valued at approximately ₹100 crore in connection with the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) scam, a case linked to Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and others.
The agency stated the attachment was carried out under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.
This is the second major seizure in the ongoing investigation, taking the total value of attached assets in the case to ₹400 crore, which includes 160 MUDA sites worth around ₹300 crore previously attached.
According to the ED, the latest set of properties are held in the names of housing cooperative societies and individuals who allegedly acted as fronts or proxies for influential persons, including senior MUDA officials.
The scam, originally unearthed by the Karnataka Lokayukta Police in Mysuru through an FIR under sections of the IPC and Prevention of Corruption Act, involves the illegal allotment of MUDA sites through fraudulent methods, including use of fake documents, flouting of official guidelines, and backdating of allotment letters.
Investigations have brought to light the involvement of former MUDA commissioners, notably GT Dinesh Kumar, in facilitating these illegal allotments.
Notably, the illicit proceeds were allegedly used to purchase some of the very MUDA sites that were illegally allotted, thus creating a complex web of money laundering.
The ED said further investigations are ongoing and more attachments may follow as the financial trail continues to unravel. (With inputs from agencies)
Mysore Urban Development Authority is called MUDA in short form. This authority is an autonomous body for the development work of Mysore city. The work of acquisition and allotment of land is the responsibility of the authority. Since the matter is of land scam, the name of MUDA has been associated with this case from the beginning. That is, from 2004.
This case is related to the allotment of land parcels as compensation by MUDA when Siddaramaiah was the Chief Minister. Social activists have alleged that there have been irregularities in this process. Due to this, the government treasury has suffered a loss of crores. Names of top officials of MUDA and Revenue Department have also come to the fore in this case.
