ED arrests Karnataka Congress MLA Veerendra 'Puppy' in illegal betting case, recovers Rs 12 crore in cash

Bengaluru: The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) on Saturday arrested Karnataka Congress MLA KC Veerendra Puppy in connection with a case involving illegal online and offline betting.

The ED after the raids recovered Rs 12 crore in cash, including Rs 1 crore in foreign currency: Bundles of 100 US Dollars, 10 and 20 British pounds, 500 Dirhams and 50 and 100 Euro currency notes.

Puppy, the legislator from Chitradurga, was arrested in Gangtok, Sikkim, and produced before a local court, ED sources said. The investigators have obtained a transit remand and will be brought to Bengaluru for further probe.

The ED launched a large-scale raid on Friday, August 22, at 31 locations in different parts of India, including Gangtok, Chitradurga District, Bangalore City, Hubballi, Jodhpur and Mumbai. In Goa, the raids focused on Puppy’s Casino Gold, Ocean Rivers Casino, Puppy’s Casino Pride, Ocean 7 Casino and Big Daddy Casino.

“Search has revealed that the suspect is running several online betting sites in the name of King 567, Raja 567, etc. Further, the suspect's brother, KC Thippeswamy, is operating three business entities from Dubai, viz, Diamond Softech, TRS Technologies, and Prime9Technologies, related to the call centre services and gaming business of KC Veerendra Puppy,” the ED said in an official statement on Saturday.

Apart from the currency, the ED investigators also recovered gold jewellery worth Rs six crore, silver articles weighing approximately 10 kg. Four vehicles, including a Mercedes car, were impounded under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.

Three of the cars had the same '0003' on the registration plates. “Further, 17 bank accounts and two bank lockers were frozen. Documents related to multiple properties were also seized from the premises of the brother, KC Nagaraj and his son, Pruthvi N Raj. Several incriminating documents were also seized from several premises.

“His other associates, namely brother KC Thippeswamy, and Pruthvi N Raj, are handling operations of online gaming from Dubai. Further, it was revealed that KC Veerendra, along with his associates, had travelled to Gangtok via Bagdogra on a business visit to lease a land casino,” the ED said.

The agency further claimed that searches indicated a complex layering of cash and other funds. Further investigation is ongoing.