ED attaches Rs 7.48-crore assets of retired Bengaluru official
Retired BWSSB Chief Engineer Basavaraju’s assets included 3.41 kg of jewellery, properties in Bengaluru and Mysuru
BENGALURU:
The Enforcement Directorate has provisionally attached assets to the tune of Rs 7.48 crore belonging to SM Basavaraju, Chief Engineer (retd.), BWSSB, under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA). The attached assets include amounts lying in bank accounts, 3.41 kg of gold and diamond jewellery, and immoveable properties in Bengaluru and Mysuru, which include 2 residential sites, 1 commercial complex and 6 residential flats.
Lokayukta FIR
The ED initiated a money-laundering investigation on the basis of an FIR registered by the Karnataka Lokayukta, Bengaluru City Division, under Section 13 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. As per the charge-sheet filed by the Karnataka Lokayukta in 2018, Basavaraju had amassed wealth beyond his known sources of income and was in possession of disproportionate assets worth Rs. 4.45 crore.
‘Benami’ purchases
The investigation revealed that Basavaraju had purchased various movable/immoveable properties in his name or in the ‘benami’ names of family members.
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