The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has taken B Nagendra, a former Karnataka minister and Congress leader, into custody in connection with the alleged irregularities in Karnataka Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation Limited. According to reports, the Congress MLA was taken from his residence to the ED office in Bengaluru for questioning.
As he was taken to ED office, Nagendra said, "I'm being brought from my home...I don't know anything."
Nagendra's detention followed extensive searches at his premises, carried out as part of a money laundering investigation related to the alleged scam.
For the past two days, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has conducted searches at multiple locations, including the residences of former Karnataka Minister Nagendra and ruling Congress MLA Basanagouda Daddal, who serves as Chairman of a Corporation. These searches spanned approximately 20 sites across Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Maharashtra in connection with a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), according to sources.
The investigation into illegal money transfers involving the Corporation gained attention after its accounts superintendent, Chandrasekharan P, died suicide on May 26. In his suicide note, he revealed unauthorized transfers of Rs 187 crore from the Corporation's bank account. Of this amount, Rs 88.62 crore was allegedly transferred to various accounts, including those of well-known IT companies and a Hyderabad-based cooperative bank, according to a report on PTI.
Chandrasekharan's note implicated several individuals, including the Corporation's now-suspended Managing Director J.G. Padmanabh, accounts officer Parashuram G. Durugannavar, and Union Bank of India Chief Manager Suchismita Rawal. He also mentioned that a "Minister" had given oral orders for these fund transfers.