Trouble is set to rise for Karnataka minister DK Shivakumar and 12 others as the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday registered a money laundering case against them. According to reports, the case has been filed on the basis of an alleged tax evasion and hawala transactions case.
The agency has booked Shivakumar, Haumanthaiah, an employee at Karnataka Bhavan in New Delhi, and others under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), an ED official said.
The case has been filed based on a charge sheet (prosecution complaint) filed by the Income Tax Department against him earlier 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 IT Department has accused Shivakumar and his associate SK Sharma of transporting huge amount of unaccounted cash on a regular basis through 'hawala' channels with help of three other accused.
"As per facts and analysis of evidences, it is clear that accused number 1 (Shivakumar) has set up an extensive network of persons and premises across Delhi and Bengaluru in order to transport and utilise unaccounted cash," the department had said.
Other accused are Sachin Narayan, Anjaneya Hanumanthaiah and N Rajendra, it said.
According to the tax department, Narayan is a business partner of Shivakumar and Sharma is the proprietor of Sharma Transports, which runs a fleet of luxury and passenger buses and provides transport services to various concerns and individuals on rental basis.
Haumanthaiah is an employee at Karnataka Bhavan in New Delhi, allegedly responsible for storing and handling unaccounted cash of Shivakumar in Delhi, it had said in the complaint. Rajendra is a caretaker of Karnataka Bhavan and works for Sharma, besides looking after immovable properties of Shivakumar and Sharma, it said.
(With inputs from PTI)
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