The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday conducted searches at 14 locations across Bengaluru, Mysuru, and Belagavi in connection with an alleged corruption and money laundering case involving officials of the Karnataka Excise Department.
For more details : https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/karnataka/ed-raids-karnataka-excise-officials-seizes-assets-worth-133-crore-in-money-laundering-probe/article71146138.ece/amp/
The raids were carried out under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, based on a Karnataka Lokayukta Police case alleging that senior Excise officials accepted bribes for processing and issuing liquor licences while amassing assets disproportionate to their known sources of income.
According to the ED, the investigation uncovered an alleged organised bribery network involving Excise officials, intermediaries, and private individuals. Liquor outlet owners were allegedly required to pay fixed monthly bribes, along with additional illegal payments for licence renewals, transfers, and new licences. Investigators also claimed to have seized a cash ledger documenting the alleged transactions.
The agency alleged that the illicit proceeds were laundered through benami properties, investments, and businesses operated in the names of family members and associates. Officials are also suspected of holding liquor licences indirectly through relatives and controlled entities.
Searches covered premises linked to Excise officials Jagdish Nayak, K.M. Thammanna, Y.D. Manjunath, and their family members, business partners, and associates.
During the raids, the ED seized ₹5.5 crore in cash, gold jewellery worth around ₹7.8 crore, foreign currency worth ₹3.3 lakh, along with digital devices, property documents, and other materials. The total value of suspected proceeds of crime seized so far is approximately ₹13.3 crore, the agency said.
Read also : ED Searches Properties Linked to Excise Official Y. Manjunath
