Bengaluru (Karnataka), June 10: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has provisionally attached 92 immovable properties linked to the MUDA land scam, with a total market value of approximately ₹100 crore, under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, according to an official statement issued Tuesday.
These properties—registered in the names of individuals and cooperative societies—are alleged to be fronts or proxies for influential persons, including senior officials of the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA).
The ED initiated the probe based on an FIR by the Mysore Lokayukta Police, which named Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and others. The FIR was filed under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), 1860, and the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.
As per the ED, the investigation uncovered a large-scale scam in MUDA site allotments, where rules were flouted and fake or incomplete documents were allegedly used to allocate sites illegally. Backdated allotment letters and ineligible beneficiaries were key elements of the modus operandi.
Former MUDA Commissioner GT Dinesh Kumar has emerged as a key player, with bribes being accepted in the form of cash, bank transfers, movable and immovable properties, the statement added.
The illegal proceeds, including bribes, were allegedly routed through cooperative societies and bank accounts of relatives and associates of the officials involved. These funds were then used to purchase MUDA sites in the names of the relatives of the accused.
This latest attachment of 92 properties adds to a previous action, where 160 MUDA sites worth ₹300 crore were provisionally attached. The total value of assets attached now stands at ₹400 crore.
The ED confirmed that the investigation is ongoing, and more action is likely in connection with the widening MUDA scam.