ED attaches Rs 23.35 crore assets in betting case linked to Karnataka Congress MLA

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has provisionally attached movable and immovable properties worth Rs 23.35 crore in connection with an alleged illegal online betting and gambling syndicate linked to Congress MLA K C Veerendra in Karnataka.

The attachment, worth Rs 23,35,46,706, was made by the agency's Bengaluru Zonal Office under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, as part of an ongoing investigation into the case.

The investigation centres on alleged unauthorised online gaming and casino platforms, including King567 and Raja567, which investigators suspect were used to cheat and extort people through rigged games and impersonation.

Veerendra, a sitting MLA in Karnataka, was arrested in Gangtok, Sikkim, in August 2025 in connection with the case.

According to the investigation, the alleged syndicate generated proceeds of crime exceeding Rs 2,300 crore, which were purportedly routed through payment gateways, mule bank accounts, shell companies and operations linked to Dubai.

The ED had earlier attached assets worth Rs 177.3 crore in the case and filed supplementary prosecution complaints naming alleged associates and intermediaries.

The latest provisional attachment is part of the agency's continuing efforts to trace and attach assets allegedly derived from the proceeds of crime.

A provisional attachment under the PMLA is subject to further legal proceedings and does not, by itself, establish guilt.