The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached 92 immovable Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) sites valued at ₹100 crore in connection with its money laundering probe into irregularities in land allotment by MUDA, the agency said on Tuesday.
Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah and his wife BM Parvati are under the ED scanner in the case.
“ED Bengaluru Zone has provisionally attached 92 immovable properties (MUDA sites) having market value of ₹100 crore (approximately) on Monday under the provisions of the prevention of money laundering act (PMLA) in connection with the MUDA case. The attached properties are registered in the name of entities such as housing cooperative society and individuals who are front or dummy for influential persons including MUDA officials,” ED said in a statement on Tuesday.
ED’s probe is based on a Karnataka Lokayukta first information report (FIR), which was closed by the state’s anti-corruption body in February this year saying the allegations against Siddaramaiah, his wife Parvathi M, and two others could not be substantiated due to insufficient evidence.
The financial crimes probe agency has already filed a protest petition before a special court in Bengaluru.
{{/usCountry}}The financial crimes probe agency has already filed a protest petition before a special court in Bengaluru.
{{/usCountry}}In a detailed statement on Tuesday, ED said its probe revealed a “large-scale scam in allotment of MUDA sites by flouting various statutes and government orders or guidelines and by other fraudulent means”.
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“The role of ex-MUDA commissioners including GT Dinesh Kumar has emerged as instrumental in illegal allotment of compensation sites to ineligible entities or individuals. The evidence with respect to obtaining bribe for making illegal allotments in the form of cash, bank transfer, movable/ immovable properties have been gathered during the course of the investigation.
The modus operandi for making illegal allotment involved identification of ineligible beneficiaries and making allotment using fake documents or incomplete documents in direct violation of government orders and also back dating of allotment letters in some cases,” ED said.
ED further said that the illegal gratification received for making these illegal allotments was routed through a co-operative society and bank accounts of the relatives or associates of the officers playing key roles in the allotment process.
“The gratification thus received was further used to purchase some of these illegally allotted MUDA sites in the name of relatives of MUDA officers,” the statement added.
The financial crimes probe agency had earlier attached 160 MUDA sites having a market value of ₹300 crore.
With regard to Karnataka CM, specific allegations are that a 3.16 acre land plot was gifted to Parvathi by her brother, Mallikarjuna Swamy in 2010. MUDA illegally developed the land between 2011-13, following which Parvathi, in 2014, sought compensation. In 2017, MUDA agreed to compensate her, and in 2022, she was given 14 plots.
After the controversy came to light, Siddaramaiah offered to return the 14 plots if his wife was given ₹56 crore as compensation. The MUDA 50:50 scheme, announced in 2016, entailed offering 50% of the developed sites as compensation to the original land owners. The controversial scheme was scrapped in 2023.
In a statement in January this year, ED had said that “Siddaramaiah has used his political influence to get compensation of 14 sites in the name of his wife in lieu of 3 acres 16 guntas of land acquired by MUDA. The land was originally acquired by MUDA for ₹3,24,700. The compensation in the form of 14 sites at posh locality is worth ₹56 crore (approx)”.