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.

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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.