ED arrests Karnataka MLA Veerendra in illegal betting racket case

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Saturday arrested Karnataka MLA from Chitradurga, KC Veerendra, for his alleged role in an illegal betting racket that operated both online and offline.

 

Veerendra was taken into custody from Gangtok, Sikkim, under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, after a two-day nationwide search that began on August 22, according to news agency PTI.

 

ED raided 31 locations

 

The Bengaluru zonal office of the ED carried out searches on August 22 and 23 at 31 places across the country, including Gangtok, Chitradurga, Bengaluru, Hubli, Jodhpur, Mumbai and Goa. In Goa, raids were conducted at five well-known casinos – Puppy’s Casino Gold, Ocean Rivers Casino, Puppy’s Casino Pride, Ocean 7 Casino and Big Daddy Casino.

 

The crackdown led to the recovery of nearly ₹12 crore in cash, including ₹1 crore in foreign currency, gold worth ₹6 crore, about 10 kg of silver, and four luxury cars. Officials also froze 17 bank accounts and two lockers. Property papers belonging to Veerendra’s brother KC Nagaraj and his son Pruthvi N Raj were seized along with several other documents.

 

According to the ED, Veerendra’s betting activities stretched across multiple states, and the assets recovered are suspected to be linked to money made from these illegal operations. The investigation found that he ran betting websites under the names King567 and Raja567 to channel funds from gambling.

 

Connection with Veerendra’s brother

 

Officials also revealed that Veerendra’s brother, KC Thippeswamy, runs three companies from Dubai – Diamond Softech, TRS Technologies and Prime9 Technologies. These firms, which are linked to call centres and gaming businesses, are suspected to be connected to the betting and money laundering network.

 

The ED said that Thippeswamy and Veerendra’s associate Pruthvi N Raj were handling the online betting operations from Dubai. They added that Veerendra and his associates had recently travelled to Gangtok through Bagdogra to explore leasing a land-based casino. Documents seized during the searches suggested complex financial dealings to hide the flow of money.

 

Veerendra was produced before a magistrate in Gangtok after his arrest, and the ED obtained a transit remand to present him before a Bengaluru court.