Illegal betting case: ED grills K'taka Cong MLA on links with foreign shell companies

Bengaluru, Aug 25 (IANS) The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) is grilling arrested Karnataka Congress MLA K.C. Veerendra aka Veerendra Pappi regarding his alleged links with foreign shell companies and overseas financial transactions in connection with an illegal betting case.

Sources said on Monday that the preliminary investigations have suggested that MLA Veerendra carried out transactions with casinos and shell companies based in Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Georgia.

Authorities also suspect that large amounts of money from cyber fraud were being converted into white money by disguising them as credit card payments.

ED sources stated that they had tracked documents and transactions related to these activities during the raids.

The investigation has further revealed that MLA Veerendra was in the process of finalising a deal to purchase a casino from Santiago Martin, popularly known as the lottery king of Tamil Nadu, said the sources.

The ED sleuths are interrogating MLA Veerendra at the ED office in the Shantinagar locality of Bengaluru regarding his alleged involvement in online and offline betting, illegal money transfers, and the Rs 12 crore cash and jewellery seized during raids on his residences and properties across India.

Official confirmation from the ED was awaited.

The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) had arrested Congress MLA K.C. Veerendra in connection with running a nationwide online betting racket, the agency had stated last Saturday. The arrest was made under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

Veerendra was produced before the judge of the ED Special Court in Bengaluru on Sunday and obtained his custody till August 28.

He was nabbed in Gangtok, Sikkim, last Saturday, where he had gone with his associates in connection with leasing land for running a casino. "His other associates, namely brother K.C. Thippeswamy, and Pruthvi N Raj, are in handling operations of online gaming from Dubai," the ED had stated.

The ED sleuths had also recovered Rs 12 crore in cash and a large quantity of other valuables from Veerendra's residence in Karnataka.

"It was revealed that MLA Veerendra, along with his associates, had travelled to Gangtok via Bagdogra on a business visit to lease a land casino. Incriminating material seized during search proceedings indicates a complex layering of cash and other funds. To further identify the Proceeds of Crime, Veerendra was arrested from Gangtok and produced before the Judicial Magistrate, Gangtok, Sikkim and transit remand was obtained for producing him before the jurisdictional Court in Bengaluru," the ED stated.

The arrest of MLA Veerendra followed raids at 31 locations on August 22-23 across India, including Gangtok, Chitradurga District, Bengaluru City, Hubli, Jodhpur, Mumbai and Goa (including five casinos viz. Puppy’s Casino Gold, Ocean Rivers Casino, Puppy’s Casino Pride, Ocean 7 Casino, Big Daddy Casino) by the ED in connection with illegal online and offline betting.

--IANS

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