DKS supplied money to Cong through hawala deals: BJP

A day after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) filed a case against Karnataka Irrigation Minister D K Shivakumar and others under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the BJP on Wednesday alleged that the Congress received money through Hawala transactions.

The BJP has the "statements of confession" made by Karnataka Bhavan Employee H Anjaneya and others in which they have said that they sent the money to the AICC office, BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra told reporters.

"We have statements of D K Shivakumar's driver who told the I-T department about how money in kgs was sent to AICC. We now know why Congress was crying during demonetisation," Patra said.

"Unaccounted cash, Hawala transactions and corrupt deals, these are the pillars on which the Congress party sits. We have proof of a Hawala network which helped in the transfer of money from Karnataka to AICC,” he alleged.

"Money used to reach Chandini Chowk in Delhi from different cities of Karnataka, including Bengaluru. From there several vehicles were used to carry the cash to AICC headquarters in the national capital,” he said.

The ED has registered a money laundering case against Shivakumar, Haumanthaiah, an employee at Karnataka Bhavan in New Delhi, and others under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), Patra said.

The case has been filed based on a charge sheet (prosecution complaint) filed by the Income Tax Department against him early this year before a special court in Bengaluru on charges of alleged tax evasion and hawala transactions worth crores.

The agency is expected to summon the accused soon for recording their statements. The I-T department has accused Shivakumar and his associate S K Sharma of transporting huge amounts of unaccounted cash on a regular basis through "hawala" channels with help of three other accused.