NEW DELHI/BENGALURU: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has filed a chargesheet under the Prevention of Money-Laundering Act against Congress's Karnataka unit president DK Shivakumar before a special court here this week. The agency has, however, not shared details of the charges framed against the former minister.
Shivakumar was arrested in September 2019 after being grilled on huge investments flowing into his entities which owned properties in Karnataka and Delhi. He was asked to substantiate the sources of his investments in acquiring the properties besides the source of Rs 10 crore cash recovered during income-tax searches on his premises in 2017. The agency arrested Shivakumar when he "failed to co-operate" with the investigation and give satisfactory responses to questions related to the sources of his income.
I will not get bogged down by these threats. I'm ready to face everything," Shivakumar said on Thursday, denying money-laundering charges and has claimed that the chargesheet is nothing but a political weapon to target him ahead of the Karnataka assembly elections due next year. "It is part of a plan to eliminate people, whom the ruling dispensation fear may create trouble for them politically or don't surrender to them," he added.
In the case, the ED had questioned former Congress MLA and Karnataka State Co-operative Apex Bank president KN Rajanna in connection with the loans extended to entities controlled by Shivakumar. His brother, DK Suresh, was also grilled related to investments in these shell entities.
Earlier, the agency had questioned Shivakumar's daughter Aishwarya and another Congress MLA, Lakshmi Hebbalkar, in the same case. The I-T department has already filed a chargesheet against him for tax evasion in 2018. The tax department had accused him of laundering black money to 'influential' people in Delhi after Rs 10 crore in cash was seized from his residences during searches. On August 3, 2017, the I-T department conducted raids at Shivakumar's residence and at the Eagleton Golf resort, where 44 Congress Gujarat MLAs were staying. Back then, Shivakumar was in charge of hospitality for all Congress Gujarat MLAs staying in Bengaluru.
The ED took over the case in September 2018 and registered a money-laundering case against Shivakumar, A Hanumanthaiah, an employee at the Karnataka Bhavan in New Delhi, and other people. Shivakumar was eventually arrested by the ED, which took over the case in 2019, and was lodged in Tihar jail for 50 days. He was released after the Delhi high court granted him bail.
He said, "The court will give us a copy of the chargesheet. Usually it (chargesheet) has to be filed within 60 days from the day I was jailed, but they have filed it after 32 months. I've belief in the law of the land and will abide by it." Shivakumar said the people of the state know he has not done anything wrong. He recalled that during late Congress leader Ahmed Patel's election to the Rajya Sabha, his house was raided and money belonging to his friends was reported as his. DK Suresh said they will fight it out legally.
