ED raids Bengaluru civic offices in PMLA case probe

January 07, 2025 19:24

The Enforcement Directorate on Tuesday conducted searches at half a dozen locations of the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike as part of a "comprehensive" money laundering investigation against alleged irregularities in the civic body that works for the Greater Bengaluru metropolitan area.

Official sources said the federal agency collected a "good number of" documents and electronic gadgets during the raids.

They said about six offices linked to the BBMP were searched under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.

The action pertains to a "comprehensive" action by the ED against some alleged irregularities in the execution of civic works by the cash-rich body including the digging of borewells and installation of Reverse Osmosis plants among others, the sources said.

The searches were based on a complaint lodged by former BBMP councilor NR Ramesh.

Ramesh, a Bharatiya Janata Party leader, told reporters that he had lodged a complaint with the Anti Corruption Bureau on June 16, 2020 about the borewell and RO plants between 2016 and 2019.

This scheme was introduced to provide safe drinking water in areas where there is no Cauvery water supply.

"Since it was a multi-crore scam of more than Rs 400 crore pertaining to the works worth Rs 970 crore, the ACB referred the case to the ED, which carried out searches today in the BBMP," Ramesh said. -- PTI

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