The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has escalated its crackdown on the Mysore Urban Development Authority (MUDA) scam, attaching 34 immovable properties, including MUDA sites, worth ₹40.08 crore. The attachment was made on October 4, 2025, under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.
The ED's Bengaluru Zonal Office initiated the investigation based on a First Information Report (FIR) registered by the Lokayukta Police, Mysore, concerning a large-scale scam involving illegal site allotments by MUDA. The investigation revealed a complex web of routing and layering of illegal financial gains allegedly obtained by G.T. Dinesh Kumar, the former MUDA Commissioner. Kumar was arrested last month on charges of money laundering and unlawful site allocation.
According to the ED, the ill-gotten gains were used to purchase immovable properties in the names of Kumar's relatives and associates. Further investigation also revealed the illegal allotment of 31 MUDA sites by Kumar. The ED had previously attached 252 illegally allotted MUDA sites.
Searches conducted by the ED in October 2024 revealed that the sites were allotted in violation of multiple regulations, including a letter dated March 14, 2023, a Government Order dated October 27, 2023, the Karnataka Urban Development Authorities (Allotment of Sites in lieu of compensation for the land Acquired) Rules, 2009 as amended in 2015, and the Karnataka Urban Development Authority (Incentive Scheme for voluntary Surrender of Land) Rules, 1991.
The ED also uncovered a deep nexus between MUDA officers and real estate businessmen. Evidence suggests that cash payments were made for the allotment of sites as compensation and for the approval of layouts.
G.T. Dinesh Kumar, who allegedly facilitated the large-scale illegal allotment of MUDA sites, was arrested under the PMLA on September 16, 2025, and is currently in judicial custody. So far, the ED has attached proceeds of crime with a market value of approximately Rs 440 crore in the case. The investigation is ongoing.
