ED Recovers ₹1.37 Cr in Cash in Bengaluru Seat Blocking Scam; BMS, Akash, New Horizon Colleges Under Probe
Bengaluru: The Enforcement Directorate’s Mangalore Sub-Zonal Office has provisionally attached movable and immovable assets worth ₹427.16 crore in the Belagavi investment case involving Shivanand Siddappa Neelannavar and associated persons and entities under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, the agency said.
The order, dated October 30, concerns the ED’s investigation into M/s Shivam Associates and Others. The investigation followed an FIR registered at Malamaruthi Police Station in Belagavi City under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the Banning of Unregulated Deposit Schemes Act and Karnataka’s depositor-protection law.
The ED alleges that the scheme collected about ₹2,459.49 crore from more than 35,000 investors after promising assured returns of 3% a month and a 0.5% commission for referring new investors.
The provisionally attached assets include fixed deposits worth about ₹367.78 crore, bank balances of ₹44.38 crore across 47 accounts, 42 immovable properties valued at ₹13.69 crore and shareholdings worth ₹1.32 crore. The properties include agricultural plots, bungalows and developer apartment bookings.
The ED said it searched eight premises in Belagavi, Chikkodi and Nipani in August and recovered documents and digital evidence. It had earlier frozen ₹2.02 crore in bank accounts and fixed deposits, according to the agency.
Neelannavar was arrested on August 13, and a prosecution complaint against five accused persons and entities was filed before the PMLA Court in Mangaluru on October 9. The ED said further investigation was under way.
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