MUDA case: ED attaches sites, other immovable assets worth Rs 40 crore

Bengaluru: The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) said it had provisionally attached 34 immovable properties, including MUDA sites, under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act in connection with the MUDA scam. 

The properties, attached on October 4, have a market value of Rs 40.08 crore, it added. 

The central agency has so far attached Rs 440 crore worth of proceeds of crime in the case under PMLA, including 252 MUDA sites attached previously. 

According to the ED, it started investigating the site allotment scam in the Mysore Urban Development Authority (MUDA) on the basis of an FIR registered by the Mysuru Lokayukta police. 

The case involves alleged irregularities in alternative sites allotted to B M Parvathi, wife of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. However, the High Court of Karnataka has quashed ED proceedings against Parvathi, and the Supreme Court has upheld the decision. A judicial commission headed by retired high court judge Justice P N Desai has also given a clean chit to the chief minister and his family. 

ED investigations revealed that "undue gratification" obtained by former MUDA commissioner G T Dinesh Kumar were "routed and layered", eventually being used to buy immovable properties in the name of his relatives and associates.

Kumar also "illegally" allotted 31 MUDA sites. He was arrested on September 16 and is currently in judicial custody. 

The ED conducted searches on October 18 and 28 last year. It found that the sites were allotted in "gross violation" of a letter dated March 14, 2023, a Government Order dated October 27, 2023, the Karnataka Urban Development Authorities (Allotment of Sites in lieu of Compensation for the Land Acquired) Rules, 2009, as amended in 2015, and the Karnataka Urban Development Authority (Incentive Scheme for Voluntary Surrender of Land) Rules, 1991. 

According to the ED, its searches also revealed a "deep nexus" between MUDA officials and real-estate businessmen, with evidence revealing payment of cash for site allotment as compensation and approval of layouts.