The Directorate of Enforcement (ED), Bengaluru Zonal Office, has provisionally attached movable and immovable assets worth approximately Rs 1.32 crore belonging to Malur Congress MLA K.Y. Nanjegowda and others in a money laundering case linked to the 2023 recruitment scam in the Kolar-Chikkaballapura District Co-operative Milk Producers’ Union Ltd (KOMUL), a prominent dairy cooperative.
The ED initiated a money laundering investigation under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, based on material gathered during searches related to a land scam in Malur Taluk, when Nanjegowda was chairman.
The agency has also referred the matter to the Lokayukta Police and filed a complaint before the Special Court for Trial of MP/MLA Cases.
Investigations revealed that the recruitment process in the dairy cooperative was rigged through manipulation of OMR sheets, political recommendations via WhatsApp, and procedural lapses. The recruitment committee, led by Nanjegowda and other KOMUL officials, favored less deserving candidates in return for bribes.
The ED found that Rs 1.56 crore was generated as proceeds of crime, with Nanjegowda allegedly pocketing Rs 80 lakh.
The evidence unearthed exposes large-scale corruption in the cooperative recruitment process. Further investigation is underway to identify the full network involved in the scam and trace additional proceeds of crime.
