Bengaluru is fast emerging as a key centre for convertion of old ₹500 and ₹1,000 notes to freshly minted ₹2,000 currency notes.
The city and the State are clearly on the radar of central investigative agencies such as Enforcement Directorate (ED), Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and others who have unearthed a fraudulent nexus between career bankers, RBI employees, bureaucrats, businessmen and politicians.
Raid after raid has surprised the agencies as they have stumbled upon freshly minted ₹2,000 notes in huge numbers.
RBI official held
On Tuesday, the CBI took into custody a senior special assistant working in the RBI Bengaluru for his alleged involvement in currency exchange. The ED is probing a case of two State government engineers and a contractor involved in conversion of old notes to freshly minted ₹2,000 notes.
Political connection
After the ED took custody of SC Jayachandra, chief project officer of Karnataka State Highways Development Project, and TN Chikkarayappa, MD of Cauvery Neeravari Nigam, the Karnataka government has suspended both of them.
According to details that emerged, raids on both officers netted more than ₹4 crore in new denomination notes and other assets in their possession worth ₹152 crore.
The ED had arrested Jayachandra last week under the stringent Prevention of Money Laundering Act. The Opposition has also alleged that one of the accused is a close confidante of Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.
Mining baron link
In another case, a Karnataka Administrative Service (KAS)officer, L Bheema Nayak, has been arrested for abetting the suicide of his car driver KC Ramesh, who in a detailed note left behind held Nayak responsible for converting former BJP minister and mining baron Gali Janardhan Reddy’s black money into white.
Following the arrest of Nayak, the Mandya district police are investigating the unnatural death of Ramesh and the involvement of Nayak in money laundering.
Ramesh had alleged in his suicide note that he had converted ₹75 crore of black money to white for the KAS officer.
Safe in the bathroom
Income tax officials raided two premises of businessman and Janata Dal (S) leader KC Veerendra and unearthed ₹5.7 crore in new currency notes hidden in a bathroom chamber.
Officials also conducted raids at five locations in the State. Veerendra is also alleged to own three casinos in Goa.