Aishwarya Gowda fraud case: Karnataka government orders CID probe as DK Suresh set to appear before ED

Former MP DK Suresh, younger brother of deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar, will appear before the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) on June 23, in connection with an alleged gold investment fraud, impersonation and money laundering case involving one Aishwarya Gowda. 

While ED had summoned Suresh for questioning on June 19, the latter, citing prior commitments, said he would appear on June 23. “I had no business dealings with Aishwarya Gowda. I don’t know why I am being summoned in this case,” he said.

Shivakumar said his brother would “fully cooperate” with ED. “Many people had approached me claiming to have been cheated by someone posing as my sister. Suresh had already filed a police complaint against unknown people who are misusing our name,” said Shivakumar.

Meanwhile, the Karnataka government has transferred the criminal investigation (excluding ED’s PMLA probe) to the CID’s Economic Offences wing. The case files were handed over to CID officials ACP Bharat Reddy and ACP Chandan Kumar from the Byatrayanpura and Vijayanagara subdivisions respectively.

It may be recalled that Aishwarya, 33, a resident of Malavalli taluk in Mandya, who claimed to be Suresh’s sister, was arrested in April this year allegedly for fraud, money laundering and impersonation. She allegedly exploited her high connections, swindled money and gold from gullible and wealthy individuals by promising them high returns on investments on gold, foreign currency and bank deposits.

She has allegedly duped doctors, businessmen and also politicians by pretending to have high connections, flaunted a lavish lifestyle by using a fleet of luxury cars and employing bodyguards. The con-woman was arrested by the ED on April 24 this year under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act 2002, following raids across 14 locations related to Aishwarya and her accomplices that had resulted in seizure of incriminating documents, digital devices and cash of Rs 2.25 crore.

In 2023, many FIRs were registered against Aishwarya across multiple police stations including Rajajinagar, Chandra Layout, and Mandya for cheating, extortion, and impersonation.

The case took a different twist after the cops discovered that a police constable had helped Aishwarya with the private call detail record (CDR), which she used to threaten her victims and extort from them.

ED also registered an ECIR under the PMLA based on the police FIRs and arrested her and she is now accused of laundering Rs 25 crore collected through fraudulent activities, while attaching her assets worth Rs 20 crore.

On June 17, Aishwarya was granted bail by a sessions court in Bengaluru, against a personal bond of Rs 5 lakh and two sureties of Rs 5 lakh each and the condition that she would not leave Bengaluru or change residence without court’s permission.

RDPR minister Priyank Kharge dubbed the ED as an “extension” of the BJP and said, “The conviction rate of all the cases taken up by the ED is 1.6 per cent. But the BJP is dragging ED into every case be it MUDA or the Aishwarya Gowda case,” he mocked.

Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao called the ED summons an act of “political vendetta” and asked them to raid all 136 Congress MLAs.

India