Karnataka Congress MLA KC Veerendra (nickname "Puppy") was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for allegedly manipulating an illegal gambling and money laundering network. This case has caused a stir in India's political and business circles.
The ED's action began with a two-day joint raid across 31 locations nationwide. During the operation, police seized nearly 120 million Indian Rupees (about 1.4 million US dollars) in cash, including 10 million Indian Rupees (about 120,000 US dollars) in foreign currency; they also confiscated about 62 million Indian Rupees (about 720,000 US dollars) worth of gold, 10 kilograms of silver, and several luxury cars.
Veerendra is not only a legislative assembly member for the Chitradurga constituency but also owns a casino in Goa. According to investigations, he is accused of operating illegal businesses through multiple gambling websites (including King567 and Raja567), with his brother managing associated companies related to Dubai. ED officials revealed that the funds involved "complex layering" operations, suspected of attempting to expand the business to a physical casino in Gangtok and establish connections with casinos in Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Georgia.
The investigation has so far led to the freezing of 17 bank accounts and the seizure of several real estate documents related to Veerendra's relatives. Veerendra has been detained, awaiting further hearing until August 28. The ED is also investigating whether the profits from online gambling were laundered through casino channels in Sri Lanka and Nepal.
It is noteworthy that just before the case was exposed, the Indian Parliament had passed a bill banning online real-money gaming. Records show that Veerendra declared personal assets worth up to 1.4 billion Indian Rupees (about 16 million US dollars) during the 2023 Karnataka elections. He was also arrested in 2016 for alleged money laundering during the demonetization period.
