K'taka Cong MLA, family purchased foreign travel tickets using betting funds: ED
New Delhi (PTI): Arrested Karnataka Congress MLA K C Veerendra, his family members and associates booked international travel tickets worth crores of rupees and these were financed through a network of "mule" accounts linked to proceeds from online betting websites, the Enforcement Directorate alleged on Tuesday.
"The evidence suggests that the funds used for these high-value transactions were diverted from illicit online activities and funnelled through multiple intermediary accounts to obscure their origin," the federal probe agency claimed in a statement.
Veerendra is being investigated as the "prime accused" in a money laundering case linked to alleged cheating of public through illegal online betting.
The 50-year-old Chitradurga legislator was arrested late last month by the ED from Sikkim where he had gone on a business trip to lease a casino.
His legal team has told the courts that the charges made by the ED against him were baseless.
The ED also conducted fresh searches in this case on September 6 at Challakere (Chitradurga district) and seized a variety of gold articles worth a total Rs 24 crore.
This included 24-carat gold bullion weighing 21.43 kg, 11 units of gold coated silver bars weighing 10.98 kg and about 1 kg gold jewellery.
The agency did not specify from whose premises these gold items were seized by it under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
"After considering this seizure, cumulative seizure of proceeds of crime in this case has crossed Rs 100 crore as on date," the agency said.
The ED has accused the MLA of "running" several online betting sites in the name of King567, Raja567, Lion567, Play567, Playwin567, etc. It has been claimed that several payment gateways were used for routing payments collected through these websites.
"ED investigation revealed that K C Veerendra, his family members and associates have booked several international travel tickets worth crores of rupees, financed through a network of mule accounts linked to proceeds from online betting websites," it alleged.
A number of luxury vehicles, allegedly used by Veerendra and his family, have been found by the ED during the multiple rounds of searches conducted by it in this case.
A Mercedes Benz registered in the name of ABH Infrastructures of Anil Gowda and a Range Rover "funded" by a person named Gulshan Khattar of Fonepaisa were also found, the ED said.
Gowda has challenged the ED summons issued to him in this case before the Karnataka High Court stating the notice was a violation of his rights as a professional advocate of Veerendra.
The ED had contended before the high court that it summoned Gowda not in his capacity as a lawyer but because of his business involvement in the case.
The court has reserved its order while grating interim protection to Gowda-- brother of Kusuma H, the losing Congress candidate from the R R Nagar assembly seat during the 2023 assembly polls-- from any coercive ED action against him.
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Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation
Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.
The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.
On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."
His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”
Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”
Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.
After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.
“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.
“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.
Chaotic end to a poor season
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The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.
It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.
Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.
Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.
