ED issues summons to DK Shivakumar in money laundering case

Mangalore Today News Network

Bengaluru, Sep 16, 2022: Congress president in Karnataka DK Shivakumar on Thursday, September 15, said he has received summons from the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to appear before it in connection with a case of money laundering. Terming the ED’s action as “harassment”, he questioned the timing of the summons when the Congress’ Bharat Jodo Yatra was on and when the state Assembly session was underway.

 

The former Minister, who is also an MLA, said he is ready to cooperate, but that the ED summons is coming in the way of discharging his Constitutional and political duties. "In the midst of the #BharatJodoYatra and the Assembly session, they have again issued me an ED summon to appear. I am ready to cooperate but the timing of this summon and the harassment I am put through, is coming in the way of discharging my constitutional and political duties (sic)," Shivakumar tweeted.

All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary in-charge of Karnataka, Randeep Singh Surjewala, claimed that seeing the "overwhelming" public support for Congress and "resounding" response to the preparation for the yatra, the Narendra Modi-headed Union government has brought the ED — which he called "the Election Department of the BJP" — to target Shivakumar. "Such cowardly acts will strengthen our resolve to decimate the corrupt Bommai (Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai) government," he said.

"Mekedatu Yatra, the August 3 rally, the August 15 Freedom March, exposing of 40% commission Sarkara-Jobs Scams & failure on Bengaluru floods have unnerved the Modi Govt. The illegitimate Bommai Govt is looting #Karnataka recklessly becoming infamous for One Scam a Day’ (sic)," Singh further tweeted.

The ED had arrested Shivakumar on September 3, 2019 in a money laundering case and the Delhi High Court granted him bail in October that year. The agency had, in May, filed the charge sheet against Shivakumar and others in the case which it had registered as a corollary to a complaint filed by the Income Tax (I-T) department.

The case dates back to August, 2017 when the I-T department carried out searches at multiple premises in Delhi as part of an alleged tax evasion probe against Shivakumar, his alleged business associate and liquor trader Sachin Narayan (45), another associate Sunil Kumar Sharma (46) who operated a fleet of luxury buses, 49-year-old Karnataka Bhawan (Delhi) employee A Hanumanthaiah and former state government employee and caretaker posted at the Karnataka Bhawan Rajendra N (76).

Cash worth more than Rs 8.59 crore (Rs 8,59,69,100) was seized by the tax department during the searches out of which over Rs 41 lakh has now been adjusted as tax liability of Shivakumar, and over Rs 7.58 lakh as that of Sharma, after they claimed the money as their agriculture income and business income respectively. The I-T department later filed a chargesheet before a Bengaluru court on charges of tax evasion against all the accused and the ED took cognisance of this complaint to file a money laundering case in 2018.

Shivakumar had rejected the charges against him as "baseless" and "politically motivated."

Courtesy: The News Minute