Total value of properties attached till now stands at Rs. 400 crore

Bengaluru: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has provisionally attached 92 immovable properties, estimated to be worth around Rs. 100 crore, in connection with the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) 50:50 sites scam. The attachments were made on June 9 under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.

As a significant administrative change, the politician-dominated MUDA has since been dissolved and replaced by a new, official-led body — Mysuru Development Authority (MDA).

According to the ED, this latest action is part of an ongoing investigation into widespread irregularities, with attached properties so far amounting to a total market value of Rs. 400 crore. The agency stated that the newly attached 92 sites are in continuation of an earlier attachment involving 160 MUDA sites, valued at approximately Rs. 300 crore.

The ED has alleged that the properties were registered in the names of Housing Co-operative Societies and individuals who acted as fronts or dummies for influential persons, including senior MUDA officials.

The investigation stems from a First Information Report (FIR) filed by the Lokayukta Police in Mysuru under various Sections of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, and the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. The FIR names Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, his wife B.M. Parvathi and others. The ED confirmed that the property attachment was  carried out on Monday.

Large-scale conspiracy

In a statement, ED described the scam as a large-scale conspiracy involving fraudulent allotment of MUDA sites. The agency said that government orders and statutory provisions were flouted with impunity and that former MUDA Commissioners, particularly G.T. Dinesh Kumar, played a central role in allocating compensation sites to ineligible individuals and entities.

The ED claimed it had collected evidence of bribe payments made in the form of cash, bank transfers and movable and immovable assets. The alleged modus operandi involved the use of fake or incomplete documents to grant sites to ineligible beneficiaries, with some allotment letters backdated to create a false paper trail.

“The gratification received for these illegal allotments was funnelled through a Cooperative Society and bank accounts of relatives and close associates of the key MUDA officials involved,” the ED said. “These illicit gains were subsequently used to purchase some of the illegally allotted MUDA sites, often in the names of the officers’ relatives.”

The core of the case involves serious allegations against CM Siddaramaiah, including the misuse of his official position in the allotment of residential sites. It is alleged that sites were allotted in violation of established norms and procedures, to benefit select individuals — including, reportedly, members of the Chief Minister’s own family.