ED probe suggests Cong MLA as kingpin in recruitment scam; Rs 1.32cr-worth assets attached

Enforcement Directorate (ED) investigation into a recruitment scam has revealed that the Congress MLA K.Y. Nanjegowda, representing Malur assembly seat, is the kingpin. The ED sleuths have also attached movable and immovable properties of MLA Gowda and other accused worth 1.32 crore rupees in connection with the case. The ED in its official statement said, Bengaluru Zonal Office has issued Provisional Attachment Order attaching immovable and movable properties of Malur Congress MLA K. Y. Nanjegowda and others worth 1.32 crore rupees in a money laundering case related to Kolar-Chikkaballapura District Co-operative Milk Producers’ Union Ltd, (KOMUL) recruitment scam, 2023. K.Y. Nanjegowda emerged as the principal architect of the scam, leveraging his role as Chairman of KOMUL to control the overall recruitment, the ED said. The ED has filed a money laundering case against Nanjegowda and others based on the material collected during the investigation and search carried out with a land grant scam in Malur Taluk under his chairmanship under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002. The ED has also referred in this regard to the Lokayukta Police and filed a complaint before Special Court for Trial of MP/MLA Cases in its efforts to register the said scam. The ED investigation revealed that the recruitment process held by KOMUL for the year 2023, which consisted of a written exam and an interview, was manipulated in lieu of money and/or recommendation of political persons.