Bengaluru: The Special Investigation Team (SIT) has filed a preliminary chargesheet naming 12 accused and giving details of seizure of Rs 49 crore in assets in the Karnataka Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribe Development Corporation (KMVSTDC) scam, an official said on Tuesday.
The chargesheet, however, does not name former minister B Nagendra, who was arrested earlier by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a money laundering case related to the scam.
Among those named in SIT’s chargesheet are former KMVSTDC officials, including ex-managing director J G Padmanabha and ex-accounts officer Parashuram Durgannanavar.
Other accused include Sathyanarayana Etakari, chairman of the First Finance Credit Co-operative Society; Nekkunte Nagaraj, an associate of Nagendra; and Nageshwar Rao, Nagaraj’s brother-in-law.
The allegations against the accused revolve around the illegal transfer of approximately Rs 94 crore from the KMVSTDC’s account in Union Bank of India to various accounts in Telangana.
The chargesheet said that these transactions were carried out without any notification to the corporation, either via SMS or the registered email ID, suggesting a deliberate attempt to conceal the fraudulent activity.
The SIT’s preliminary findings have led to the registration of eight cases and the seizure of significant assets, including Rs 16.83 crore in cash, 16.25 kg of gold, luxury cars valued at Rs 4.51 crore, and bank account funds totalling Rs 13.72 crore.
The chargesheet, an extensive document spanning seven volumes and 3,072 pages, charged the accused with criminal conspiracy, criminal breach of trust, and cheating under the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
