MUDA Scam: ED books Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah, others after Lokayukta FIR

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday filed a money-laundering case against Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and others, following a recent FIR by the state Lokayukta related to the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) that has seen the Congress leader in deep trouble.

Official sources indicated to PTI that the ED has initiated an enforcement case information report (ECIR) to formalise the charges.

Named in the FIR are the chief minister, his wife B.M. Parvathi, brother-in-law Mallikarjuna Swamy, and Devaraju, from whom Swamy purchased land later gifted to Parvathi, according to the news agency.


This action follows a special court in Bengaluru's order for a Lokayukta investigation after the Karnataka High Court upheld a sanction by Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot concerning alleged irregularities in the allotment of 14 plots to Parvathi by MUDA.

The ED is invoking sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in its case, which allows the agency to summon individuals for questioning and potentially attach assets during the investigation.

Siddaramaiah has repeatedly denied the charges and asserted that he is being targeted politically. He has also proclaimed that he will not resign with the support of his party leaders, despite repeated calls from the BJP for him to step down from his post at the head of the government.

The Lokayukta FIR in the MUDA Scam

The Lokayukta police registered an FIR against the CM Siddaramaiah and others in the site allotment case on Friday.

The FIR alleges that compensatory sites were improperly allotted to Siddaramaiah's wife in a more affluent Mysuru area, raising concerns about the legitimacy of the land transactions. The charges under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) include criminal conspiracy, public servant misconduct, dishonest misappropriation, cheating, and forgery, among others.

It was filed under sections of the Indian Penal Code including 351, 420, 340, IPC 09, 120B among others.

Earlier, on Wednesday, a special court had mandated a Lokayukta police investigation into Siddaramaiah in connection with this matter.