Money Laundering Case Filed Against Siddaramaiah In Land Scam-Linked Probe

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has been accused in a money laundering case filed by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with the alleged Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) land scam. The case was filed after the Enforcement Directorate took note of a First Information Report filed by the Lokayukta. 

Besides Mr Siddaramaiah, his wife BM Parvathi, brother-in-law Mallikarjuna Swamy and Devaraju — from whom Swamy had purchased land and gifted it to Parvathi — and others have been named in the FIR registered by the Lokayukta police on September 27. 

The FIR was filed following the orders of a special court, after the Karnataka High Court upheld Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot’s clearance for an investigation against the Chief Minister.

The MUDA case involves allegations of illegalities in the allotment of 14 sites to Mr Siddaramaiah’s wife by the authority. It has been alleged that compensatory sites allotted to Mr Siddaramaiah’s wife – located in an upmarket area in Mysuru – is far higher than the land acquired from her by MUDA.

Mr Siddaramaiah has denied any wrongdoing and claimed the allegations against him are politically motivated.

Mr Siddaramaiah is the latest Opposition Chief Minister to have been named as an accused in a corruption case. Earlier, the Central agencies had named and arrested Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren and Aam Aadmi Party’s Arvind Kejriwal, who has since stepped down from the Delhi Chief Minister’s post. 

Mr Kejriwal got bail from the Supreme Court after being in Tihar Jail for nearly six months. Mr Soren got bail after five months. The Supreme Court had refused to entertain the Enforcement’s Directorate’s petition challenging the bail order from the High Court.