New Delhi, 19 Dec

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday said it has attached assets worth about ₹8 crore belonging to former Karnataka minister and Congress leader B Nagendra in connection with the alleged Valmiki scam linked to money laundering.

According to the agency, the provisionally attached properties include four residential and commercial land parcels and a building. The action has been taken under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

In a statement, the ED described the assets as “proceeds of crime”, a term used under the PMLA to denote illicitly generated funds.

The agency said the remaining proceeds of crime could not be traced and appeared to have been either exhausted or concealed by Nagendra.

“Therefore, the ED is constrained to attach equivalent value of proceeds of crime in the form of such properties, which otherwise may frustrate the further proceedings under the PMLA,” the statement said.

The total value of the attached properties is ₹8.07 crore, the ED added.

The money laundering case stems from an FIR registered by the Karnataka Police and the CBI, alleging that crores of rupees were diverted from the accounts of the Karnataka Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation (KMVSTDC). The funds were allegedly transferred to fake accounts and subsequently laundered through shell entities.

Nagendra, who served as the tribal affairs minister in Karnataka, was arrested by the ED in the case and later released on bail.