MUDA Fraud: ED Sends Notice to CM's Spouse and Minister Byrathi Suresh

Bengaluru, Jan 27 (NationPress) The Enforcement Directorate has served a notice to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s spouse B.M. Parvathi, who is the second accused in the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) fraud, as reported on Monday.

The ED has also directed Urban Development Minister Byrathi Suresh, a close ally of CM Siddaramaiah, to appear before them.

Sources indicate that the notice to the CM’s wife was issued on January 23, requiring her to meet with ED officials on January 27 (Monday). Minister Suresh has also been summoned to appear before the ED today.

In response, both Parvathi and Minister Suresh have approached the Karnataka High Court challenging the summons via separate petitions. The counsel for Parvathi requested the court to prioritize the petition, and the bench has agreed to address it by Monday.

Additionally, the High Court is hearing a petition that calls for a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) inquiry into the MUDA fraud.

CM Siddaramaiah is identified as the primary accused in the MUDA case, with investigations ongoing into others involved in illegal allocations through MUDA.

In a significant setback for the Chief Minister, the ED's Bengaluru Zonal Office has provisionally seized 142 properties valued at approximately Rs 300 crore under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, linked to the MUDA fraud.

The ED stated on January 17 that the role of former MUDA commissioner D.B. Natesh is crucial in the illegal allocation of compensation sites to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s wife, B.M. Parvathi.

Investigative searches revealed that numerous sites, beyond the 14 allocated to B.M. Parvathi, were unlawfully granted by MUDA as compensation to real estate moguls, who subsequently sold these properties for profit, generating substantial unaccounted cash.

Petitioner Snehamayi Krishna has claimed that the illegal allocations by MUDA total thousands of crores.

The ED has indicated that the profits generated have been laundered and misrepresented as originating from legitimate sources.

“The searches also uncovered that sites were allocated in the names of benamis/dummy individuals linked to powerful persons and real estate developers. Significant evidence of illegal payments to the then MUDA chairman and MUDA commissioner in forms of immovable property, MUDA sites, and cash was recovered,” the ED stated.

“The properties seized are registered under the names of various individuals operating as real estate businessmen and agents,” the ED reported.

The ED's investigation was prompted by an FIR lodged by the Lokayuktha Police Mysuru, citing various sections of the IPC, 1860, and the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, against Siddaramaiah and others.

It is alleged that Siddaramaiah leveraged his political influence to secure compensation for 14 sites in the name of his wife, B.M. Parvathi, in exchange for three acres and 16 guntas of land acquired by MUDA.

This land was initially acquired by MUDA for Rs 3.24 lakh, while the compensation, in the form of 14 sites in the prestigious Vijayanagar area of Mysuru, is valued at about Rs 56 crore.

The ED further revealed that funds were channeled through a cooperative society for acquiring properties, luxury vehicles, etc., under the names of relatives of G.T. Dinesh Kumar, the former commissioner of MUDA.

Investigations are continuing.

Previously, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah categorically denied the allegations of unlawful allotments. His wife, Parvathi, had returned the 14 allotted sites to MUDA.