The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has filed a money laundering case against Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in connection with the alleged Mysore Urban Development Authority (MUDA) land scam. The case was filed following an FIR registered by the Karnataka Lokayukta.

“We are in possession of the details of the FIR and relevant case details. The offences fall under the schedule of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). A case will be registered soon after completing necessary formalities,” a senior ED official had said earlier.

The ED case could potentially facilitate the attachment of assets owned by the Chief Minister and his family, in addition to enabling more stringent actions.

Siddaramaiah, 76, has denied any wrongdoing. Last week, he refused to resign and said that the case was politically motivated, alleging that the opposition was “scared” of him. He said, “This is the first such political case against me and I will fight the case legally.”

Earlier this year, two incumbent Chief Ministers—Jharkhand’s Hemant Soren and Delhi’s Arvind Kejriwal—were arrested by the ED and were subsequently granted bail after spending several months in jail.

On Friday, the Karnataka Lokayukta police filed charges of corruption, cheating, and forgery against Siddaramaiah and three others concerning the alleged allocation of 14 MUDA housing sites to the Chief Minister’s wife in 2021.

The FIR was filed by the Mysuru unit of the Lokayukta police following a private complaint by RTI activist Snehamayi Krishna, which a special court for elected representatives referred to the agency on September 25.

The FIR names Siddaramaiah, his wife BM Parvathi, his brother-in-law Mallikarjuna Swamy, and a former landowner, Devaraju. This follows the Karnataka High Court’s decision on September 24 to uphold the approval from Governor Thawarchand Gehlot, allowing three people to file cases against the Chief Minister under Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

The Chief Minister and his family are accused of profiting from a MUDA land exchange scheme. It is alleged that 3.16 acres of land outside Mysuru, which was gifted to Siddaramaiah’s wife by her brother in 2010, was exchanged for 14 housing sites located in a prime area of Mysuru under a 50:50 exchange scheme initiated during the BJP’s administration.

Activists who reported the situation to the Governor and the special court claim that the alleged illicit land exchange has resulted in a loss of Rs 56 crore to the state.