Shivakumar tried to hide illegal cash: ED tells special CBI court

Special Judge Vikas Dhull took cognizance of the ED chargesheet filed against five accused under Section 3 of PMLA, noting that “all accused persons knowingly assisted pursuant to criminal conspiracy in the concealment of proceeds of crime” by projecting it as their lawful business income.

In its chargesheet, ED has alleged that Shivakumar, who held the rank of a Cabinet minister, had “generated a huge amount of illegal and unaccounted cash”. The agency claimed that the Congress leader entered into a criminal conspiracy with other co-accused to “hide the tainted cash and evade payment of tax and the said tainted cash was transported from Bangalore to Delhi.”

The Income Tax Department had conducted a search and seizure operation on August 2, 2017 at a house owned by Shivakumar and his associates and claimed to have recovered more than Rs 8.5 crore.

Since a case under Section 120-B (Punishment of criminal conspiracy) was a scheduled offence, ED eventually registered an ECIR, which is akin to a police FIR, in this case.

The ED had arrested Shivakumar on September 3, 2019, in the case. Delhi High Court granted him bail in October 2019.