Illegal betting case: K’taka HC rejects petition to release Congress MLA Veerndra

Bengaluru, Oct 15 Karnataka High Court on Wednesday quashed the petition seeking the release of the Congress MLA K.C. Veerendra aka Veerendra Pappi. MLA Veerendra is jailed in an illegal betting case by the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) and is facing money laundering charges.

The bench headed by Justice M.I. Arun passed an order while looking into the petition submitted by MLA Veerndra's wife. The petition claimed that the arrest of MLA Veerendra was illegal, arbitrary and violated his fundamental rights.

The bench further stated that if a bail petition is submitted by the accused, it could be considered in accordance with the law. If the B report (closure report) is accepted by the trial court, later the petitioner could file a petition for quashing.

Senior advocate Siddharth Dave, representing Veerendra’s wife, argued that between the time the Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) was registered in July and Veerendra’s arrest in Sikkim, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) never issued a single summons to the MLA under Section 50 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

The grounds on which MLA Veerendra was arrested do not amount to a predicate offence, and at the time of arrest, the ED did not have valid grounds, Dave submitted.

Aravind Kamat, Additional Solicitor General representing the ED, submitted that MLA Veerendra is involved in the process of generation, concealment and other elements as mentioned in Section 3 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in respect of proceeds of crime. Preliminary investigations revealed the accused operated casinos in India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Georgia and also set up betting platforms under the names of king567 and other 567 Gaming universe.

The accused generated huge proceeds of crime through illegal activities. The accused has a house in Dubai, Goa, and this is established with the statements by the accused in support of the evidence.

Investigators claim that, considering how large the operation was and the number of online games run since 2021, the money made from illegal activities (proceeds of crime) is more than Rs 2,000 crores. This figure is based only on transaction records from one payment gateway. Since this is just from one source, investigators believe there could be much more illegal money involved, and therefore, further investigation is needed to uncover the full extent of the proceeds of crime, the ED's counsel submitted.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has seized assets worth over Rs 150 crore in connection with an illegal online betting case against Congress MLA K C Veerendra.

ED officials seized 40 kilograms of 24-carat gold bullion worth Rs 50.33 crore from two separate lockers in Challakere. With this latest action, the total seizure in the case has topped Rs 150 crore. Before this, the ED had attached or seized assets worth Rs 103 crore, which included 21 kilograms of gold bars, cash, jewels and luxury vehicles.

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