Congress MLA K.C. Veerendra has been arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with an illegal betting and money laundering case. The arrest was made under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) after Veerendra was apprehended in Gangtok, Sikkim, where he had traveled with associates to explore leasing land for operating a casino.

During searches of Veerendra’s residence in Karnataka, ED officials recovered Rs 12 crore in cash, approximately Rs 1 crore in foreign currency, gold jewellery worth about Rs 6 crore, silver articles totaling around 10 kilograms, and four vehicles.

The raids also extended to 31 locations across India, including Bengaluru, Hubli, Chitradurga, Jodhpur, Mumbai, Goa, and Gangtok, as well as five casinos, including Puppy’s Casino Gold, Ocean Rivers Casino, Puppy’s Casino Pride, Ocean 7 Casino, and Big Daddy Casino.

Investigators revealed that MLA Veerendra and his associates operated several online betting platforms under names such as King567 and Raja567. Additionally, his brother K.C. Thippeswamy manages three business entities in Dubai—Diamond Softech, TRS Technologies, and Prime9Technologies. ED officials also froze 17 bank accounts and two bank lockers and seized multiple property-related and incriminating documents from Veerendra’s family members, including his brother K.C. Nagaraj and his son Pruthvi N. Raj.

The ED stated that the raids and arrests are part of a probe into a complex money laundering operation involving layering of cash and funds from online betting and casino-related activities.

Veerendra was produced before the Judicial Magistrate in Gangtok, Sikkim, and transit remand was obtained to produce him before the jurisdictional court in Bengaluru. The investigation into the case is ongoing, with further actions expected against Veerendra and his associates.