On Thursday, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) mentioned Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his wife, Parvathi, in its report on the alleged MUDA (Mysore Urban Development Authority) scam.

In its report, the ED also named several important MUDA officials and pointed out discrepancies in the civic body's site allocations totaling almost Rs 56 crore. The Enforcement Directorate's Provisional Attachment Order (PAO) provided a thorough overview of the methods used to launder money through these 14 sites. A copy of the PAO was given to PTI by activist Snehamayi Krishna, a petitioner in the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) case. In the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) case, activist Snehamayi Krishna, a petitioner, gave the PTI a copy of the PAO. The 104-page order stated that the 'illegal allotment' was influenced by external factors.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) mentioned that Parvathi returned these 14 sites after the investigation began under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002. "The illegal allotment of sites is not a single occurrence. There is a deep-rooted nexus between MUDA officers /officials and real estate businessmen/influential persons. Large number of illegal allotments were made by MUDA officers/officials against cash, immovable properties, vehicles etc," the ED said. The agency stated that the method used involved illegally allotting sites to ineligible people who were merely fronts or dummies. These sites were then falsely presented as legitimate, claiming they were given as compensation for land acquired by MUDA.

"Further, these illegally allotted sites are being sold in order to obfuscate their true origin i.e. proceeds of crime and to frustrate proceedings under PMLA, 2002. The resultant sale consideration obtained is being projected as untainted income from real estate business," the report said. The MUDA allocated 14 sites to Parvathi in exchange for acquiring her three acres and 16 guntas of agricultural land in Kesare village. Mallikarjuna Swamy, who is Siddaramaiah’s brother-in-law, had gifted this land to his sister Parvathi. Swamy informed the ED that he had visited the land in Kesare in 2003 with its owner, J Devaraju, before purchasing it. He also stated that there was no development work on the land at that time. “However, when confronted with the satellite imagery which clearly indicated development work on the land undertaken during years 2001, 2002 and 2003, he could not provide any plausible explanation for the same,” the ED order said.

"It can be clearly seen from the satellite imageries and the work order for L&T that the development work had commenced in the year 2001 itself," the ED said. Devaraju was not identified as the landowner in the final notification for the land acquisition, the ED claims. "It can be observed from the above that the entire process of denotification, purchase of the land and its subsequent conversion for non agricultural purpose is all along devised under the influence to obtain possession of a prime land at a layout being developed by MUDA," it said. "Further, tampering, violation of office p.6.u-ariui, undue favour/influence, forging of signature, evidence tampering etc is also evident from the investigation," it added. 

The ED investigation reveals that MUDA initially acquired the land for ₹3,24,700, but it was illegally de-notified based on false information and external influence. According to the ED, the land was later converted into residential property using incorrect spot inspection reports and a ‘No Objection’ approval from MUDA. "Illegal compensation in the form of sites at posh locality worth Rs 56 crore (Appx) was obtained through political influence. These illegally obtained sites were projected as compensation received from MUDA," it said. According to the Enforcement Directorate (ED), following an investigation under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), Parvathi returned the mentioned sites to MUDA on October 1, 2024.

Although Parvathi has given the sites back, the investigation has revealed that an attempt at money laundering was made by the accused in the case. The individuals involved include Siddaramaiah, his wife Parvathi, her brother Swamy, Devaraju, as well as MUDA officers, real estate businessmen, and other influential individuals. "Investigation revealed that approximately 1,095 MUDA sites (plots) have been illegally allotted," it said. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his family have not responded to the ED's PAO.