IMA scam: Day after searches, CBI books two Karnataka officials for corruption

The IMA scam was allegedly perpetrated by businessman Mohammed Mansoor Khan, who bribed dozens of officials and politicians between 2016 and 2019 to ignore the fraudulent activities carried out by his firm under the guise of being compliant with Islamic norms. Hundreds of depositors, mostly Muslims, were cheated of nearly Rs 1,400 crore through ponzi schemes.

Vijay Shankar, who served as the deputy commissioner of the Bengaluru Urban revenue district, and L C Nagaraj, an assistant revenue commissioner in the region, were earlier arrested by a Bengaluru Police SIT which initially probed the scam under the Karnataka Protection of Interest of Depositors in Financial Institutions Act, 2004.

Shankar and Nagaraj were paid Rs 1.5 crore and Rs 4 crore, respectively, by the IMA Group through Manjunath, a village accountant, “for forwarding a favourable report to the government with regard to an inquiry into the illegal activities of the IMA Group”, the CBI said in a statement.

These three were among the several whose properties were searched at 15 locations across the country on Friday by the CBI as part of its investigations into the scam.

Among others whose properties were searched were Bengaluru DCP Ajay Hillori and Additional Commissioner of Police Hemanth Nimbalkar.

The two IPS officers were among those who gave clean chits to the group’s ponzi scheme at a time the government received several complaints about the matter.

The CBI had not named IAS officer B M Vijay Shankar and revenue officer L C Nagara in the two chargesheets filed since August as the SIT had not obtained the government’s sanction to prosecute them so far.

“A clean chit was given by these officials to IMA, saying the firm does not come under the ambit of the Karnataka Protection of Interest of Depositors (KPID) in Financial Establishments Act, 2004 despite the police having no powers to verify the firm under the KPID Act,” said sources in the SIT which initially probed the scam.

IPS officers Hillori and Nimbalkar have been extensively interrogated by the CBI in the past few weeks.