ED seizes ₹3 crore in 18 searches; Jarkiholi denies wrongdoing

State PWD minister Satish Jarkiholi said on Thursday that cash seized by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) belonged to his family and that he would produce records to explain its source, as searches spanning nearly 37 hours at 18 properties linked to him and his associates ended.

The ED searched homes, offices and other properties in Bengaluru, Belagavi and Goa from 6 am on Wednesday as part of a probe into suspected violations of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) and alleged investments abroad.

Properties belonging to Jarkiholi’s family members and associates were also searched, said the central agency.

The agency said it had seized more than ₹3 crore in cash, along with documents relating to overseas investments by members of the Jarkiholi family, including investments in mining businesses in South Africa, Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

“The money belongs to our family and we have the account for that money. When the ED officials issue a notice to me for explanations, I will place the relevant documents before them,” Jarkiholi told reporters on Friday.

Cash collected from houses belonging to Jarkiholi’s family members in Gokak and from residences of associates was taken to a Bank of India branch in Gokak in a trunk. ED officials handed it over to bank officials against a receipt.

Jarkiholi said the agency had questioned him about alleged investments abroad and possible FEMA violations. He denied that such investments had already been made, saying there were only plans to invest overseas.

“We have plans of making some investments abroad, but so far, we haven’t made any. I have answered all the questions posed by ED officials and for some of the questions, for which I didn’t know the answers, I have told them I don’t know. If they need any further clarifications on the seized documents, I will explain to them when they issue me with a notice,” he said.

The minister also questioned why the agency had carried out searches instead of first seeking an explanation through a notice. “There may be a political reason, or it may have come from their own sources. They could have issued a notice and sought information,” he said.

“We knew that our party leaders would be targeted, but the ED came to me first. The fact that there have been no raids on BJP leaders is a question,” he said.

Jarkiholi repeatedly played down the nature of the operation, describing it as a search rather than a raid, while saying he would cooperate with the investigation. “This is not an ED raid, it is only a search,” he said.

On the seized cash, he said he would seek its release through the legal process. “I will claim it according to the law,” he said.