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It is alleged that the money was withdrawn from the Karnataka Valmiki Scheduled Tribe Development Corporation funds and was spent in the Lok Sabha elections.
Premises linked to E Tukaram and the three MLAs are being searched by ED. (File Photo)
The Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday conducted searches against Congress’ Bellary MP E Tukaram and three MLAs in Karnataka as part of a money laundering probe into the alleged Valmiki scam, sources informed.
It has been learnt that the premises linked to Tukaram and the three MLAs are being searched under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The three leaders being investigated by the investigative agency are: NT Srinivas, NB Reddy and JN Ganesh.
It is alleged that the money was withdrawn from the Karnataka Valmiki Scheduled Tribe Development Corporation funds and was spent in the Lok Sabha elections. The ED has alleged that the cash siphoned from the Valmiki funds was used in Bellary constituency during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
In 2024, BJP leader CN Ravikumar, who is an MLC, disclosed the matter in a press conference, following which the central investigative agencies — CBI and ED — entered the probe into this scam involving 89 crore.
According to the initial allegation, about 21 crore was withdrawn from the funds of Karnataka Valmiki Scheduled Tribe Development Corporation and spent during the last Lok Sabha elections in Bellary Lok Sabha.
The money laundering case probe began after FIRs were registered by Karnataka Police and CBI alleging that funds worth crores of rupees were diverted from the accounts of the Karnataka Maharshi Valmiki ST Development Corporation (KMVSTDC) and sent to “fake accounts” before being laundered through shell entities.
The corporation was established in 2006 with a primary focus on the socio-economic development of the Scheduled Tribe (ST) communities in Karnataka by running welfare schemes for them.
Harish Upadhya, an Assistant Editor at CNN-News18, reports from Bengaluru. Political reporting is his forte. He also tracks India’s space journey, and is passionate about environmental reporting and RTI investi…Read More
Harish Upadhya, an Assistant Editor at CNN-News18, reports from Bengaluru. Political reporting is his forte. He also tracks India’s space journey, and is passionate about environmental reporting and RTI investi… Read More
- Location :
Karnataka, India, India
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