Bengaluru: A prosecution complaint against Congress MLA and former minister for Scheduled Tribes Affairs B. Nagendra was filed by officials of Enforcement Directorate (ED), Bengaluru in the Special Court for MP’s and MLAs, Bengaluru on Wednesday in relation to the alleged fraudulent bank transactions in the accounts of Maharishi Valmiki ST Development Corporation, a State Government undertaking.
It may be recalled here B. Nagendra, MLA representing Ballari Rural Assembly seat, resigned as Minister for Scheduled Tribes Affairs in June after the alleged fraudulent bank transactions came to light in May following the suicide of an employee attached to Maharishi Valmiki ST Development Corporation.
He was arrested by the ED after First Information Report (FIRS) were registered by Karnataka Police and sleuths of Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). ED investigation uncovered about Rs 89.62 crore from the bank accounts of Maharishi Valmiki ST Development Corporation were diverted into the fake accounts across Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. The money was laundered through shell entities. Along with B. Nagendra, ED arrested five others in connection with the bank fraud case.
The investigation by ED sleuths revealed Rs 20.19 crore of the diverted funds were used to support a (Congress) candidate contesting Ballari Lok Sabha election held in May this year and to meet the personal expenses of B. Nagendra.
The evidence of these expenditures were discovered during search operations and seizure operations by ED sleuths and corroborated by financial analysis and statements. In addition, ED investigation discovered details of election expenses were retrieved from the mobile phone of Vijay Kumar Gowda who handled the cash on the instructions of B. Nagendra.
ED named B. Nagendra as primary accused in the bank fraud and mastermind behind the scam allegedly with the help of 24 persons. The investigation by ED revealed that on the directions of B. Nagendra, the account (in Union Bank of India) of the Maharishi Valmiki ST Development Corporation was moved to M.G. Road branch in Bengaluru without proper authorization.
The bank accounts of the Maharishi Valmiki ST Development Corporation account had Rs 187 crore including Rs 43.33 crore from the State Treasury under the Ganga Kalyan Scheme and the funds of about Rs 89. 62 crore were siphoned off through multiple shell accounts and converted into cash and bullion.
