The Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted searches at the home of former Karnataka minister and Congress leader Roshan Baig on Thursday, August 5, 2021, in connection with the I-Monetary Advisory (IMA) investment scam that was exposed in 2019.
In connection with the case, a separate ED team conducted raids at the residence of Chickpet MLA BZ Zameer Ahmed Khan.
Since the morning, more than a half-dozen ED officers have been searching Baig’s home in Pulikeshinagar’s Coles Park. Baig, a seven-time Congress MLA from Bengaluru’s Shivaji Nagar constituency, was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on November 22 last year after being interrogated for about 10 hours.
The CBI also raided Baig’s Bengaluru residence a day after his arrest.
Following reports that he had gone underground fearing investments worth crores from over 50,000 investors in the ponzi scheme, the Enforcement Directorate filed a money laundering case against the IMA group of firms and the principal accused in the case, Mohammed Mansoor Khan.
The ED launched a money-laundering investigation after the CBI filed a First Information Report (FIR).
I-Monetary Advisors (IMA) of Karnataka, an allegedly Islamic banking-compliant investment firm, folded in May 2019 as it was unable to refund deposits or dividends on deposits it had fraudulently accepted.
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At the time of his arrest, the main accused, Mohammed Mansoor Khan, managing director and chief executive officer of the IMA Group of firms, said that Baig had defrauded him of Rs 400 crore and compelled him to give him costly automobiles and jewellery. He also mentioned a few more government officials.
The former minister had then rejected the charge and claimed that except for some donations to Haj facilitation centres, he had not accepted any money.
Both Baig and Khan are out on bail, while investigators are trying to recover money lost by the depositors.
Karnataka High Court recently ordered the seizure of Baig’s immovable assets.
Karnataka government informed the High court last month that it has attached properties belonging to Baig.
