Press Statement In a case involving Illegal Mining, the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) has temporarily seized immovable properties worth Rs. 54.18 crores in accordance with the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. The 30 immovable properties that make up the attached assets are located in the Karnataka districts of Bellari, Koppal, and Hospet and are owned by the accused and their relatives.
On the basis of an FIR filed by the SIT Karnataka Lokayuktha, Bangalore against M/s Karadapudi Mahesh, his brothers, and friends under the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957, and the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, the ED began an investigation under the PMLA, 2002.
During the PMLA investigation, it was discovered that the main accused, K Mahesh, and his brothers, K Govindaraj, K Sadashiva, and K Kumar, transported and traded illegally mined iron ore for a total of Rs. 62.92 Crore with the aid of their associates without having valid permits or on the basis of forged and fake permits. Moreover, the defendants helped other people and companies transport and trade iron ore that had been unlawfully mined by paying them risk money to the tune of Rs. 40.93 Crore. As a result, the accused caused a loss to the government treasury and produced 103.85 crore rupees in criminal gains.
Moreover, it was discovered during the inquiry that the majority of the funds were received in cash and utilised to purchase real estate in the names of the accused and their families at the relevant time of the scheduled offence. More research is now being conducted.
