Valmiki Corporation 'scam': CBI searches premises linked to associates of former Karnataka minister

The CBI on Monday conducted searches at the premises of associates of former Karnataka minister B Nagendra at 16 locations in the state and Andhra Pradesh in connection with the Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation 'scam', officials said.

The case involves serious allegations of transferring government funds to personal accounts of Nagendra's relatives from the accounts of Karnataka Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation.

Founded in 2006, the Valmiki Corporation was established to implement developmental schemes aimed at improving the socio-economic conditions of Scheduled Tribe communities in the state.

The CBI had registered the case on a complaint from the deputy general manager of Union Bank of India, where the account of Valmiki Corporation was maintained, alleging misappropriation of over Rs 84 crore through illegal transfer and withdrawal from the accounts of the corporation between February 21, 2024 and May 06, 2024.

The case had started as a bank fraud matter against Nagendra in June 2024 but during the probe the CBI collected some records which corroborated the complaint that funds were allegedly transferred into the accounts of the former minister's sister and brother-in-law, the officials said.

The CBI, which was confined to examining limited irregularities, got the clearance of the Karnataka High Court to conduct a full-fledged investigation in July. The high court ordered the state's Special Investigation Team (SIT) to transfer all case-related documents and evidence to the central agency.

The high court had given orders on a petition filed by MLA Basangouda R Patil praying in November last year for directions to the CBI to file a final report before the court, and to submit interim status reports during the pendency of the petition. Since then, the high court has been monitoring the investigation. Four status reports have so far been filed by the CBI before the high court.

The agency has found instances of diversion of government funds belonging to the Scheduled Tribes Welfare Department and the Karnataka German Technical Training Institute (KGTTI). Nagendra was the minister of Scheduled Tribe Welfare Department. The CBI has discovered that Rs 2.17 crore of ST Welfare Department was allegedly transferred from its account in Bank of Baroda, Siddaiah Road Branch, Bengaluru, through intermediary firms such as SKR Infrastructure and Golden Establishment, into the account of Dhanalaxmi Enterprises belonging to Nekkanti Nagaraj, a close associate of the then minister, the officials said. Around Rs 1.20 crore of the funds were further routed into the accounts of the associates and relatives of Nagendra, including his sister, brother-in-law, and personal assistant, they said.

The central probe agency has also detected another instance of Rs 64 lakh belonging to KGTTI diverted from its account at Canara Bank to N Ravikumar (Nagaraj's brother) and N Yashwanth Chowdhry (Nagaraj's nephew) via a number of companies.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)