ED seizes Rs 50-crore worth gold in fresh raids in betting case involving Karnataka MLA, others         

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday said it has seized about 40 kg of gold worth Rs 50.33 crore during fresh searches in an online betting case that allegedly involves arrested Karnataka Congress MLA K C Veerendra and some others.

The 24-carat gold bullion was recovered from two lockers located in Challakere in Karnataka's Chitradurga district, it said in a statement.

The agency did not disclose the identity of the gold's owner.

The ED had arrested the 50-year-old legislator from the Chitradurga Assembly seat in August. He was held in Sikkim, where he had gone on a business trip to lease a casino. Veerendra is currently in jail, and the ED has called him the "prime accused" in the case.

The federal probe agency had earlier seized assets worth Rs 103 crore in this case in the form of 21 kg gold bars, cash, gold and silver jewellery, deposits kept in bank accounts and luxury vehicles.

It is alleged that Veerendra, in association with other friends and family members, was involved in operations of several "illegal" online betting websites like 'King567' and 'Raja567', among others and "cheated" innocent people.

"The fund collection from players has been routed using several gateways like FonePaisa. The money collected was routed through several mule accounts, which are sourced by these betting operators from intermediaries from all across India," it said.

The probe has found a "nexus" of online betting apps with isolated instances of cybercrime across India, by way of mule accounts created in the name of individuals in exchange for petty sums.

The estimated turnover of these betting applications being "controlled" by Veerendra is more than Rs 2,000 crore, the agency claimed.

It has earlier been claimed that the MLA, his family members and associates booked international travel tickets worth crores of rupees, and these were financed through a network of "mule" accounts linked to proceeds from online betting websites.