ED seizes 160 sites worth Rs 300 crore in Karnataka MUDA scam case
The Enforcement Directorate (ED), investigating the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) scam, has seized 160 sites allotted to various individuals in violation of the 50:50 ratio formula, sources said on Wednesday.
The ED stated that the sites were seized under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) due to indications of benami transactions involving large sums of money. According to sources, the total value of these sites is estimated to be Rs 81 crore based on their guidance value, while their market value exceeds Rs 300 crore.
Among the seized properties, 31 sites are registered in the name of one Ravi, 41 sites under Abdul Wahid’s name, 40 sites in the name of the Cathedral Society, and 48 sites linked to various other individuals. The investigation revealed that MUDA registered 31 sites under Ravi’s name on a single day, September 11, 2023. These include 12 sites in Kuvempunagar and 19 in Dattagalli and Vijayanagara, upscale localities developed decades ago in Mysuru. Abdul Wahid had 25 sites registered in his name on March 8, 2023, and three more on October 1, 2023.
The ED has sent a seizure order to the Sub-Registrar’s office to begin the process of confiscating these sites.
Petitioner Snehamayi Krishna had alleged that around 3,000 to 4,000 sites, meant for poor and middle-class individuals waiting for decades, were instead allotted to supporters of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and other influential persons, in violation of regulations and through document fabrication.
Earlier, the ED faced a setback when the Dharwad Bench of the Karnataka High Court, led by Justice M. Nagaprasanna, stayed the summons issued to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s wife, B.M. Parvathi, and Minister for Urban Development, Byrathi Suresh, in connection with the MUDA land scam. The Bench had questioned the urgency of the ED’s actions, asking, “What is the tearing hurry?” while passing the order.
Parvathi, named as the second accused in the case, was required to appear before the ED on January 28, 2025. Minister Byrathi Suresh, a close confidant of the CM, was scheduled to appear on January 29, 2025. The High Court has granted a stay on the ED’s summons until February 10, 2025.
However, in a blow to CM Siddaramaiah, the ED had provisionally attached 14 immovable properties valued at approximately Rs 300 crore under the PMLA on January 17, 2025, in connection with the MUDA scam. CM Siddaramaiah is the primary accused in the case, with the investigation also focusing on others who received illegal allotments through MUDA. His wife, B.M. Parvathi, is the second accused.
According to the ED, the role of former MUDA commissioner D.B. Natesh has been pivotal in the illegal allotment of compensation sites to Siddaramaiah’s wife. Further searches revealed that many other sites, in addition to the 14 allotted to Parvathi, were illegally allocated by MUDA as compensation to real estate businessmen, who then sold them for substantial profits, generating large amounts of unaccounted cash.
