Bengaluru: A week after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) summoned Karnataka minister B Z Zameer Ahmed Khan for questioning in connection to the IMA ponzi scam, he appeared before the agency yesterday.
The scam had left thousands of investors in the lurch, and the firm’s owner Mohammed Mansoor Khan has been absconding since. According to media reports, the Food and Civil Supplies and Minority Welfare minister was summoned for questioning in connection with selling his property at Richmond Town to Mansoor Khan.
After the probe, the minister said the ED officials inquired with him when he had purchased and sold the property. Khan also said that he showed the sale and purchase of property in his declarations.
He had purchased the property in 2009 and sold it 2018. The minister also claimed that he submitted the sale deed copy and income tax copy to the ED officials.
Speaking to reporters, he said, “The officers were content with my reply and told me that there was no need for me to visit them again,” Khan said.
Meanwhile, in connection to the case, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) arrested two people, including assistant commissioner L C Nagaraj posted in Bengaluru North sub-division, on charges of allegedly receiving a bribe of Rs 4.5 crore to cover up wrongdoings of the firm. A village accountant was also arrested for aiding Nagaraj in preparing a false report.
The SIT searched the residence of Nagaraj and four medical shops belonging to the IMA group. These shops are reportedly located in Shantinagar, BTM Layout and Jayanagar. The officials seized materials worth Rs 1.2 crore.