ED looks at possibility of money laundering probe in Karnataka BJP MLA Madal Virupakshappa’s bribery case

The BJP MLA and his son – a chief accounts officer at the Bengaluru Water Supply and Sewerage Board – are currently the subjects of a preliminary probe by the Karnataka Lokayukta police for amassment of assets disproportionate to their known sources of income apart from the main bribery case.

The MLA’s son is also accused in two other bribery cases involving the alleged collection of bribes amounting to Rs 90 lakh and Rs 60 lakh from other KSDL raw material vendors.

Lokayukta police sources said the Directorate of Enforcement had been in touch with regard to the corruption investigations but “not in a formal way” to launch an official corruption-linked money laundering probe against the MLA and his son.

The BJP MLA, who is a close associate of former Karnataka CM B S Yediyurappa, has been questioned over the last four days by the Lokayukta police. The Lokayukta police also took the MLA’s son Prashanth Madal into custody on Monday and are likely to question the father and son in tandem on Wednesday.

The BJP MLA managed to evade arrest in the corruption case by obtaining anticipatory bail from the Karnataka high court. The Karnataka Lokayukta police have moved the Supreme Court for cancellation of bail to facilitate further investigation of the corruption case.

“A total of Rs. 2,02,00,000 was seized from the private office of Prashant Madal on Crescent Road and Rs 6,10,30,000 was seized from the residence of Madal Virupakshappa,” the Lokayukta police stated after searches on March 2 and 3, following the arrest of Prashant Madal.

The BJP MLA, who initially claimed that the Rs 6.10 crore seized from his bedroom would be substantiated as proceeds from the family’s areca nut business, has now disassociated himself from the seized amount, police sources said.

The BJP MLA has also claimed that a tender committee held powers for granting tenders but the probe so far has found that the chairman of KSDL was the signing authority for the award of tenders.

Incidentally, the MLA’s son Prashanth worked earlier as a deputy finance controller in the Anti Corruption Bureau of the Karnataka Police.

The role of the finance controller involved “providing advice and assistance to investigating officers in cases of finance, audit, violations of Karnataka Transparency in Public Procurement rules, misappropriations or embezzlement of funds…”

The Lokayukta police probe has found irregularities in awarding as many as 30 tenders for procuring over 80 substances at the KDSL in the last two years, sources said.