Congress MLA B Nagendra granted bail in multi-crore Valmiki Corporation scam case

Mangalore Today News Network

Bengaluru, October 15, 2024: The special court for cases involving MPs/MLAs on Monday granted bail to former minister B Nagendra in connection with a money laundering case in the irregularities at the Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation Limited. Special court judge Santhosh Gajanan Bhat allowed the petition filed by Nagendra.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested Nagendra on July 12, 2024 under Prevention of Money Laundering (PML) Act.

The ED had filed the chargesheet against Nagendra for the offences under sections 3 and 4 of PML Act and said he was the mastermind of the scam. The court granted bail to Nagendra on executing a personal bond for Rs two lakh with two sureties for the like sum.

The court also imposed conditions that Nagendra shall not threaten and tamper with the prosecution witnesses, the complainant and victim. “The petitioner shall not evade the investigation and shall appear before the investigating officer whenever called by him for the purpose of investigation.

The petitioner shall furnish his passport to the court and shall not leave the state without obtaining written permission from the court. The petitioner shall not in any manner interfere with the investigation or tamper the evidence directly or indirectly. The petitioner shall not indulge in similar offence,” the court said.

Nagendra had resigned as a minister in June 2024 in the wake of controversy over misappropriation of funds in the corporation. The ED chargesheet had named him as the primary accused along with 24 others, including his key associates Satyanarayana Varma, Etakari Satyanarayana, JG Padmanabha, Nageshwara Rao, Nekkenti Nagaraj and Vijay Kumar Gowda.

The chargesheet said that the corporation’s bank account was moved to the Union Bank of India’s MG Road branch under the influence of Nagendra. The chargesheet further stated that Rs 187 crore, including Rs 43.3 crore from the state treasury under the Ganga Kalyan scheme, were deposited in this account without following proper procedure and in violation of government guidelines.

These funds allegedly siphoned off through multiple shell accounts and converted into cash and bullion, the ED chargesheet said.