CBI raids 14 locations linked to Congress’ DK Shivakumar in alleged corruption case

DK Shivakumar’s Kanakapura house

As per sources, the CBI teams conducted raids at DK Shivakumar house in Sadashivanagar in Bengaluru and DK Suresh’s properties in Kanakapura and Bengaluru. The sources also added that CBI SP Thomson Jose led the search operation that began at 6 am today and that the central agency had procured a warrant from the CBI Special Court judge late on Sunday evening.

Last year, Shivakumar was lodged at New Delhi’s Tihar Jail in connection with a money laundering case probed by the Enforcement Directorate. Shivakumar was arrested on September 3, 2019, by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with a money laundering case filed in 2018 following an investigation by the Income Tax Department in 2017, when unaccounted cash to the tune of more than Rs 8 crore was found in New Delhi in locations allegedly linked to the Congress leader.

Meanwhile, reacting to the raids on Monday, former Karnataka chief minister and Congress leader called it an attempt to “mislead public.” Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala also condemned the raids.

On the basis of the I-T investigations, and complaint to the court of tax evasion and criminal conspiracy to evade tax under Section 120 B of the Indian Penal Code, the ED registered a case against Shivakumar and his associates in September 2018. He was accused of funneling unaccounted money through hawala channels with the help of others. Under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), Shivakumar was charged with tax evasion and ‘hawala’ transactions worth crores of rupees.