HT DIGITAL
GANGTOK, AUGUST 24: The Directorate of Enforcement (ED), Bengaluru Zonal Office, conducted a two-day search operation on August 22 and 23 at 31 locations in India. The operations were carried out in Gangtok, Chitradurga, Bengaluru, Hubli, Jodhpur, Mumbai and Goa.
The action was under the investigation against K.C. Veerendra, an MLA from the Chitradurga district, and others for illegal online and offline betting.
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The raid also covered five casinos in Goa — Puppy’s Casino Gold, Ocean Rivers Casino, Puppy’s Casino Pride, Ocean 7 Casino and Big Daddy Casino. Veerendra was operating several betting platforms under the names of King567 and Raja567, officials said. His brother, K.C. Thippeswamy, was associated with three Dubai-based companies — Diamond Softech, TRS Technologies and Prime9Technologies — said to be involved in online gaming and call centre operations linked with the betting network.
During the raids, the ED confiscated Rs 12 crore in cash, including Rs 1 crore in foreign exchange. Gold jewellery worth approximately Rs 6 crore, 10 kilograms of silver ornaments and four vehicles were also retrieved. Seventeen accounts and two locker facilities were locked down, and property documents and incriminating documents were seized from Veerendra’s brother’s premises, K.C. Nagaraj, and his son, Pruthvi N. Raj.
Investigating officers also found that Veerendra and his partners had traveled to Gangtok via Bagdogra to look into leasing a land-based casino. The ED explained that documents seized indicated sophisticated layering of money and movement of cash, indicating efforts at hiding the flow of funds. K.C. Veerendra was arrested on August 23 in Gangtok and brought before a Judicial Magistrate in Sikkim. The ED later obtained a transit remand to produce him before the jurisdictional court in Bengaluru. The agency added that investigation into the proceeds of crime is ongoing.
