Valmiki Corporation 'scam': ED questions ex-K'taka minister B Nagendra again

Bengaluru, Sep 7 (PTI) The Enforcement Directorate on Monday recorded the statement of former Karnataka minister and Congress leader B Nagendra in a money laundering investigation linked to the alleged misappropriation of Valmiki Corporation funds, officials said.

The 54-year-old MLA's statement was recorded under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) at the ED's office here, they said.

The federal probe agency had earlier questioned Nagendra, a Congress MLA from Bellary Rural, in this case and arrested him in July 2024. It subsequently filed a chargesheet against him.

According to officials, the fresh round of questioning is understood to be linked to alleged irregularities in the Karnataka Maharishi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation Limited (KMVSTDC) and the contents of a chargesheet filed by the CBI in this case in June.

The legislator resigned from the Karnataka Cabinet in late August for the second time following the opposition pressure regarding his alleged involvement in the Rs 89-crore Valmiki Corporation "scam".

He had also resigned in 2024 after the case came to light and was subsequently arrested by the ED. He later secured bail.

Speaking to reporters after he came out of the ED office, Nagendra said he had received the summons last month itself but could not go there due to certain reasons.

On whether the ED officials asked him to submit any documents, the former minister said, "No. It was just an inquiry." Nagendra reiterated that he was not involved in the Valmiki Corporation "scam".

"One thousand per cent. One thousand per cent, I had no role. I resigned as minister voluntarily because I did not want my party, that is like my mother, to face any embarrassment. The resignation was not because the BJP was carrying out a padayatra, nor for any other reason," he said.

To a query on BJP's demand for scam money recovery, Nagendra said the scam money has already been recovered.

The Bellary Rural MLA also ruled out that the "irregularities" in the Valmiki Corporation was a scam. Instead, he preferred to call it a "bank fraud".

"I would never call this a scam. This is a bank fraud. It is a Union Bank fraud, a fraud that happened on the Union Bank side," he said.

After resigning a second time, Nagendra accused the opposition BJP of "spreading lies" about the alleged Valmiki Corporation scam.

The Valmiki Corporation case came to light after the corporation's accounts officer Chandrasekharan P died by suicide in May 2024, leaving behind a note alleging unauthorised transfer of funds.

Investigations subsequently alleged that large sums were transferred from the corporation's bank accounts to various accounts, triggering a political controversy and demands for Nagendra's resignation. PTI NES GMS KVK KVK