Karnataka Congress MLA K C Veerendra ‘Puppy’ was arrested in Sikkim for his illegal betting racket. The ED conducted a two-day search operation across India on Saturday. The investigation uncovered a large illegal betting network with connections to international casinos and gaming operations in Dubai.
ED raids on Congress MLA in illegal betting racket
The raids took place in several states, including Sikkim, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, and Goa, on August 22 and 23. Agency officials focused on five casinos in Goa: Puppy’s Casino Gold, Ocean Rivers Casino, Puppy’s Casino Pride, Ocean 7 Casino, and Big Daddy Casino.
According to investigators, the Congress MLA operated several betting sites, such as King567 and Raja567. His brother, K C Thippeswamy, managed three Dubai-based businesses linked to call centre services and gaming. Investigators also found multiple international casino membership cards from MGM, Bellagio, Metropolitan, Marina, and Casino Jewel, along with luxury hotel memberships for Taj, Hyatt, and The Leela and high-value credit and debit cards.
12 crore cash found, with 3 Vehicles with same VIP Number
During the raids, officials discovered Rs 12 crore in cash, which included Rs 1 crore in foreign currency. They also seized gold jewellery valued at Rs 6 crore and around 10 kg of silver jewellery. Three luxury vehicles were found, all with the same VIP number: 0003.
Sources in the probe agency stated that evidence shows a “complex layering” of cash and funds. They also showed attempts to hire a land-based casino in Gangtok in illegal betting racket. The agency froze 17 bank accounts and two lockers and seized property documents tied to Veerendra’s brother, K C Nagaraj, and nephew, Pruthvi N Raj.
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