ED searches premises linked to Minister Satish Jarkiholi over FEMA allegations
ED searches linked to Karnataka Minister Satish Jarkiholi and relatives were over alleged FEMA violations, he said, adding that no overseas investment has been made yet.
Enforcement Directorate officers have concluded searches at premises linked to Karnataka Public Works Minister Satish Jarkiholi, along with those of his relatives and associates, in Belagavi. The Minister said the searches pertained to allegations of violations of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA).
Speaking to presspersons in Bengaluru, he said the department had served a notice the previous day and that it concerned FEMA provisions rather than the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. According to him, the focus was on proposed investments abroad. He maintained that while officers asserted the investments had already been made, he told them no such investment had taken place.
He said the family had definite plans and had applied for permissions from various agencies, including the Reserve Bank of India, and that the overseas investments would not proceed until those approvals came through.
The Minister said officers seized documents from several locations as well as cash amounting to about ₹2 crore. He stated that the money belongs to them and that they would claim it through legal means by submitting the necessary documents.
Searches were carried out at the residences of the Minister, his children Priyanka and Rahul, and his brother-in-law Y. Manjunath, a Joint Commissioner in the Excise Department who is married to Mahadevi, the Minister's sister. Premises linked to Malagouda Patil, the Minister's personal assistant, and Preeti Kakatkar, personal assistant to Manjunath, were also searched.
No searches were reported at the homes or offices of the Minister's brothers, Ramesh Jarkiholi and Balachandra Jarkiholi, both BJP MLAs, or at the residences of Independent MLC Lakhan Jarkiholi and businessman Bhimshi Jarkiholi, his younger brothers.
Addressing the press, Jarkiholi questioned why leaders of the Congress and regional Opposition parties appeared to be the sole targets of central agencies. He said he may have made some small mistake but alleged that the agencies were letting off big fish while pursuing smaller ones, and claimed that only Opposition leaders were being targeted nationwide.
He said the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president, B.K. Hariprasad, had told him that as many as eight Congress leaders from the State could be targeted.
The Minister, however, said he had not faced any harassment from the officers, describing the interaction as cooperative on both sides and the officials' conduct as non-partisan. He said he trusted the legal process and would face it, adding that he shared whatever he knew and asked the officers to issue notices if they needed additional information.
On the case's status, he said the preliminary investigation has begun and it is unclear when it will conclude, suggesting it may continue until the next elections.