The ED claimed on Wednesday that B Nagendra, Congress MLA and former Karnataka Minister for Scheduled Tribal Affairs, has been named as the primary accused and mastermind behind the alleged scam in the Karnataka Maharishi Valmiki ST Development Corporation. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has filed a Prosecution Complaint (PC) or charge sheet before the Special Court for MPs/MLAs in Bengaluru concerning the scam.
The federal agency stated that the court has taken cognizance of the PC. “Nagendra allegedly orchestrated the scam with the help of 24 others, including key associates like Satyanarayana Varma, Etakari Satyanarayana, JG Padmanabha, Nageshwar Rao, Nekkenti Nagaraj, and Vijay Kumar Gowda,” the ED said in a statement.
ED initiated the investigation based on FIRs registered by the Karnataka Police and CBI, which uncovered that around Rs 89.62 crore was diverted from the Corporation’s accounts into fake accounts across Andhra Pradesh and Telangana and later laundered through shell entities. This scam came to light after the suicide of Chandrasekharan, an employee of the Corporation, in May 2024. ED investigation revealed that under the influence of B. Nagendra, the account of the Corporation was moved to the MG Road Branch without any proper authorisation, where Rs 187 crore, including Rs 43.33 crore from the State Treasury under the Ganga Kalyana Scheme, were deposited without following proper procedures and in violation of government guidelines.
These funds were subsequently siphoned off through multiple shell accounts and converted into cash and bullion. ED investigation also revealed that an amount of Rs 20.19 crore of the diverted funds were used to support a candidate contesting the 2024 Lok Sabha election from the Bellary constituency, as well as for the personal expenses of Nagendra. Evidence of these expenditures was discovered during search and seizure operations and corroborated by financial analysis and statements. Details of these election expenses were retrieved from the mobile phone of Vijay Kumar Gowda, who handled the cash on Nagendra’s instructions.
Nagendra, who resigned after the scam came to light, is also accused of obstructing the investigation by destroying mobile phones and instructing others to remain silent. The ED arrested Nagendra and five other key accused during the investigation. The ED stated that further investigation is in progress. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has agreed on the floor of the house that Rs 89.6 crore was misappropriated. The SIT investigating the scam has given a clean chit to former minister Nagendra in the case.
–IANS
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