The Enforcement Directorate (ED) identified Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, his family members, and key officials of the Mysore Urban Development Authority (Muda) in the probe into abnormalities of site allotments of the civic body, of about Rs 56 crore. The probe disclosed large-scale flaws, including unlawful de-notification of government-acquired land and bogus land transfers.
The ED report claimed the fraud includes manipulation with official documents, misuse of political influence, and forgery. One of the significant discoveries includes the illegal de-notification of land that had already been obtained by Muda for public development. The procedure, as per the ED, was pursued without expert review or due persistence. At the time, Siddaramaiah was the deputy chief minister and a member of the Muda board, though he was absent at the meeting where the de-notification was discussed.
The report also underscored fake land transfers with revenue department officials untruthfully claiming to have executed spot inspections. These reports excluded Muda’s development work on the land and misrepresented the presence of unauthorised constructions. Satellite imagery and official records, however, opposed these claims. Additionally, a compensation bond submitted by BM Mallikarjuna Swamy, a key suspect in the case, did not contain his signature, raising suspicions of document tampering.
One of the most controversial facts of the case is the illegal allocation of sites to Siddaramaiah’s wife, BM Parvathi. The probe disclosed that 14 prime-location sites were assigned to her in breach of statutory guidelines. These sites, acquired through political influence, were later returned to Muda following the start of the ED investigation. The report mentioned that the entire process—from de-notification to site allotment—was planned to obtain valuable land within a Muda-developed layout.
The ED has also pointed out the role of Siddaramaiah’s son, Yathindra, who was an MLA and a Muda board member at the time of the site allotments. Additionally, Siddaramaiah’s close aide, SG Dinesh Kumar, also known as CT Kumar, is alleged to be involved in faking and tempering site allotments in Parvathi’s favour.
The probe has validated violations under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002. The major suspects identified in the case include Siddaramaiah, BM Parvathi, BM Mallikarjuna Swamy, J Devaraju, and several unidentified Muda officials, real estate businessmen, and influential figures. The ED stated that despite Parvathi returning the sites to Muda on October 1, 2024, the offence of money laundering was done under Section 3 of the PMLA.
This case involved a coalition between political figures and Muda officials, especially the then Commissioner of Muda, DB Natesh. The ED is now operating in-depth investigations into the financial transactions and possible concealment of illegally obtained assets.
