Bribery, Money Laundering: Fresh Complaint Against BS Yediyurappa

T J Abraham, an activist, filed the complaint in the first week of June. The matter is up for hearing on 30 June.

A private complaint is now lodged with a special court in Bengaluru accusing Karnataka CM BS Yediyurappa and his family of money laundering. 

Image: Erum Gour/The Quint

A fresh private complaint has been filed in a Bengaluru court pleading for a probe into allegations of bribery and money laundering against Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa, four members of his family and a government official. The complainant, social activist TJ Abraham, has accused the CM and others of accepting bribes in 2020 in exchange of clearances for a housing project.

Taking record of the private complaint filed by social activist T J Abraham on 4 June, the special court that hears cases against elected representatives, has posted the matter for hearing on 30 June.

Abraham, who frequently files cases against elected representatives, has named Yediyurappa, minister S T Somashekhar, IAS officer G C Prakash, Yediyurappa’s son B Y Vijayendra, grandson Sashidhar Maradi, son-in-law Virupakshappa Yamakanamaradi, and a relative Sanjay Sree in his complaint.

What the Complaint Says

The complaint alleges that the Chief Minister’s family, including his son and grandson, received bribes of Rs 12.5 crore from a contractor, Chandrakanth Ramalingam, and laundered Rs 5.01 crore, through a network of shell companies.

In 2020, Abraham had filed a complaint before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in New Delhi requesting a probe into bribery and money laundering charges against Yediyurappa and others following media reports that alleged the same.

Though the complaint was lodged with the ED in November 2020, there has been no FIR in the case by any primary agency, a prerequisite for the ED to join the probe.

I filed a complaint with the ED and the Anti-Corruption Bureau, Karnataka, in November 2020. But both the agencies have failed to initiate a probe, forcing me to file a private complaint seeking directions to register an FIR in the Special Court for People’s Representatives. The petition is yet to be heard.

T J Abraham, Activist

Allegations Against CM’s Family

“It is in public knowledge in Karnataka that the above-mentioned accused persons are involved in rampant illegal activities of amassing huge amounts of money through corruption and bribes which are routed through shell and other companies,” said the complaint sent by the activist to the ED in November 2020.

The director of a private construction firm Ramalingam Construction Company Limited Chandrakanth Ramalingam has also been named in the letter to the ED and also in the private complaint filed in the court.

The Chief Minister and his son were accused of using strong-arm tactics against a Kannada news channel in September 2020, when it aired what it claimed was a sting operation where the contractor accepted paying bribes. However, the contractor has accused the channel of coercion, blackmail, and extortion.