Karnataka Congress MLA KC Veerendra was arrested on Saturday in connection with an illegal online and offline betting racket. The arrest was carried out by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) following a two-day search operation across 31 locations in India. The investigation revealed a big betting network, including operations from Dubai and links to multiple casinos. The raids, conducted on August 22 and 23, spanned cities including Bengaluru, Hubli, Mumbai, Jodhpur, Goa, and Gangtok, with searches also targeting five well-known casinos, Big Daddy Casino, Ocean Rivers Casino, Puppy’s Casino Pride, Ocean 7 Casino, and Puppy’s Casino Gold.
According to the ED, Veerendra was operating a series of illegal online betting platforms under names like King567 and Raja567. His brother, K C Thippeswamy, is allegedly managing the backend of the operations through three companies based in Dubai’s Diamond Softech, TRS Technologies, and Prime9Technologies. These firms were found to be providing gaming-related call centre services for the betting operations.
Authorities believe the Dubai-based operations were central to the laundering and international layering of illicit funds.
Rs 12 crore, foreign currency, gold and vehicles seized
During the extensive search operation, officials seized approximately ₹12 crore in cash, including ₹1 crore in foreign currency. In addition, gold jewellery valued at around ₹6 crore, 10 kg of silver articles, and four high-end vehicles were confiscated. Seventeen bank accounts and two bank lockers were frozen under provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.
Several documents related to property and financial transactions were recovered from the residence of Veerendra’s brother K C Nagaraj and Nagaraj’s son, Pruthvi N Raj. The MLA was arrested from Gangtok on August 23, 2025, where he had reportedly travelled with associates to explore the leasing of a land-based casino in the region. The ED said that incriminating evidence pointed to “complex layering of cash and funds” involving both domestic and international players.
Veerendra was produced before a Judicial Magistrate in Gangtok and was granted transit remand to be brought to Bengaluru for further proceedings.
Key associates also under scrutiny
Besides Veerendra, his brother K C Thippeswamy and nephew Pruthvi N Raj are also under the scanner for their role in managing the online betting operations and facilitating international financial transfers. Investigators noted that many of these operations were being directed remotely from Dubai.