Daijiworld Media Network- Bengaluru (RJP)

Bengaluru, Oct 4: The enforcement directorate (ED) has attached the bank accounts of Yerabati Ashwin, son of Justice Y Bhaskar Rao the chief of Karnataka Lokayukta with regard to money laundering case.

The special investigation team (SIT), probing the extortion and corruption cases in Lokayukta, the anti graft agency, has found out dubious transactions of Rs 4.9 crore in Ashwin's bank accounts, mainly in two accounts maintained with a private bank in Hyderabad.

The SIT had found unusual transactions of money in Ashwin's Kotak Mahindra Bank accounts in Hyderabad after January 2015. The ED registered a case under sections of prevention of money laundering act after the SIT submitted the chargesheet in the first case.

Ashwin through his savings and current accounts with Kotak Mahindra bank had transacted crores of rupees from 2015. The total balance in these accounts was Rs 7,441 in September 2014. Rs 18 lac and Rs 7 lac were credited into these accounts on January 16, 2015 alone. Then several transfers made into these accounts to the tune of around Rs 5 crore.

One of Ashwin’s chartered accountants, B N Sirish, stated during investigations that Ashwin had approached him in January 2015 seeking advice to convert some unaccounted cash into white money.

“As Ashwin was the son of former high court chief justice, I believed him and helped him to convert his cash of Rs 4.9 crore into legal money." said B N Sirish in his statement.

During the probe, it was revealed that Mahathi software, Rita commodity, Excel Vanijya, Intelligent-Pitch consultancy and Kwality agro products made large amounts of transfers into Ashwin’s mentioned bank accounts. These transfers were made after Ashwin’s men deposited cash into their accounts.

The investigations are still being done on the basis of prima facie evidences. Meanwhile the bank accounts of Ashwin have been attached by the ED to help in the investigations.