ED busts Karnataka Congress MLA ‘Puppy’ in multi-crore betting racket; Rs 12 crore, gold, luxury cars seized
BENGALURU/CHITRADURGA, AUG 23 : Karnataka Congress MLA K C Veerendra ‘Puppy’, involved in illegal online and offline betting and money laundering, was arrested on Saturday in Gangtok, Sikkim, and produced before the Judicial Magistrate, Gangtok. Transit remand was obtained to produce him before the jurisdictional court in Bengaluru.
During extensive search operations, approximately Rs 12 crore in cash, including around Rs 1 crore in foreign currency, gold jewellery worth approximately Rs 6 crore, silver articles weighing around 10 kg, and four SUVs were seized under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) also froze 17 bank accounts and two bank lockers. A picture released by the agency showed huge wads of currency notes placed on a casino table.
The Bengaluru Zonal Office of the ED conducted raids on 22 and 23 August at 31 locations across India, including Gangtok, Challakere in Chitradurga district, Bengaluru, Hubli, Jodhpur, Mumbai, and Goa.
The searches included five casinos in Goa Puppy’s Casino Gold, Ocean Rivers Casino, Puppy’s Casino Pride, Ocean 7 Casino, and Big Daddy Casino – linked to KC Veerendra and others in connection with illegal betting.
The ED stated that Veerendra is running several online betting sites, including King567, Raja567, Puppy’s003, and Rathna Gaming.
His brother, KC Thippeswamy, is reportedly operating three business entities from Dubai – Diamond Softech, TRS Technologies, and Prime9Technologies – related to call centre services and Veerendra’s online gaming operations.
“Many property-related documents were also seized from the premises of Veerendra’s brother KC Nagaraj and his son Pruthvi N Raj. His other associates like another brother KC Thippeswamy are handling operations of online gaming from Dubai,” the ED said.
Investigations revealed that Veerendra and his associates travelled to Gangtok via Bagdogra on a business visit to lease a land casino. The incriminating material seized during the searches indicates complex layering of cash and other funds.
The ED also seized numerous international casino membership and reward cards, including MGM Casino, Metropolitan Casino, Bellagio Casino, Marina Casino, and Casino Jewel, as well as multiple credit and debit cards and membership cards of some five-star hotels.
Some Instagram posts claiming that the MLA owned the “biggest car collection” in Chitradurga with 003 registration number plates are under probe, with sources stating that the ownership and source of funds for these high-end vehicles are being investigated.
This operation marks the largest raid ever conducted by the Enforcement Directorate against KC Veerendra.
The legislator had previously been arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation in 2016 following demonetisation, when Income Tax officials seized Rs 5.7 crore in new Rs 2,000 notes from a hidden vault in a bathroom at Veerendra’s residence.
An additional Rs 90 lakh in other denominations was recovered during raids on 10 December 2016 at approximately 15 locations, including his Challakere residence, a casino he owned in Goa, and other business establishments.
Further investigation into the case is ongoing. There was no immediate reaction from the MLA’s legal team or the Congress party.
-ANI
