ED Arrests Karnataka Congress MLA KC Veerenra; ₹12 Crore Cash and Assets Seized in Raids

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested Karnataka Congress MLA KC Veerenra on Saturday as part of a money laundering investigation. This action followed extensive raids conducted by the ED on Friday, targeting multiple locations linked to Veerenra. The searches resulted in the seizure of over ₹12 crore in cash, along with significant amounts of gold and silver. Moreover, the authorities recovered more than ₹1 crore in foreign currency. The ED’s investigation, initiated on August 22 and 23, focused on an illegal betting and online gaming operation allegedly run by Veerenra and his associates. Raids were carried out at 31 different locations across the country, encompassing cities like Gangtok, Chitradurga, Bengaluru, Hubli, Jodhpur, Mumbai, and Goa. The Goa operations included searches at five major casinos: Papi’s Casino Gold, Ocean Reverse Casino, Papi’s Casino Pride, Ocean 7 Casino, and Big Daddy Casino. The ED’s seizures during the raids included approximately ₹12 crore in cash (including ₹1 crore in foreign currency), approximately ₹6 crore worth of gold, 10 kilograms of silver, and four luxury vehicles. In addition, 17 bank accounts and 2 lockers have been frozen. The investigation revealed that Veerenra was allegedly running online betting sites such as King567 and Raja567. His brother, KC Thippeswamy, managed the operation from Dubai, utilizing the companies Diamond Softech, TRS Technologies, and Prime 9 Technologies. Other individuals, including another brother, KC Nagaraj, and his son, Prithvi N. Raj, were also involved. The ED found critical documents and evidence indicating that the illicit earnings were being laundered through complex financial schemes. Veerenra was apprehended in Gangtok, where he and his associates were attempting to secure a lease for a land casino. On Saturday, he was presented before a local court, and the ED obtained a transit remand to move him to a court in Bengaluru for further proceedings.