Roopa S
Published on: 01st June, 2022 at 17:00 IST
A Special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Court in Delhi on Tuesday summoned Karnataka Congress leader DK Shivakumar and four others by Special Judge Vikas Dhull to appear before the court on July 1, after taking cognizance of a charge sheet in money laundering case filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
“There is sufficient material on record to take cognisance of the offence under Section 3 read with Section 4 of the PMLA as all the accused persons knowingly assisted pursuant to criminal conspiracy in the concealment possession of proceeds of crime i.e. unaccounted cash or in projecting it as their lawful business income,” the Special Court ruled.
The Court was also satisfied that the money laundering charge was prima facie made out solely on the basis of Section 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code being a scheduled offence and other offences of the Income Tax Act, 1961 not being scheduled offences.
ED alleged that Shivakumar, while holding a public office in the Government of Karnataka, generated a huge amount of “illegal wealth” that the wealth was hidden away through a “criminal conspiracy” with associates. The conspiracy involved tax evasion and ‘storing of cash’ in Delhi.
ED also pointed out that the Income Tax department during search and seizure operation on August 2, 2017 at the premises of Shivakumar and his associates and recovered unaccounted cash of ₹8.59 crore in New Delhi.
The Income Tax Authorities registered case against him for offences punishable under Section 276C(1), 277 and 278 of the Income Tax Act, 1961 read with Section 193, 199 and 120B of the Indian Penal Code, 1860.
The ED had arrested Shivakumar on September 3 after undergoing four days of interrogation also cited his non-cooperation during the questioning related to his arrest. However, he further applied for bail which was granted to him.