D K Shivakumar gets bail in money laundering case

New Delhi, Oct 23: A Delhi High Court on Wednesday granted bail to the Karnataka Congress leader D K Shivakumar on a personal bond of Rs 25 lakh in connection with a money laundering case.

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However, Shivakumar facing allegations of money laundering running into crores of rupees, cannot leave the country.

The court also said that Shivakumar cannot tamper with evidence as documents are with investigating agencies and there is no material to show he has influenced witnesses.

Shivakumar (57) was instrumental in the smooth running of the Congress-JD(S) coalition government headed by Kumaraswamy that lost power to the BJP in July this year.

Shivakumar, a seven-time MLA in Karnataka, was arrested by the ED on September 3 for the alleged offence under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

Shivakumar's brother D K Suresh and daughter Aishwarya have also been questioned by the ED. The agency has also summoned Congress leader's mother and wife, apart from questioning Belagavi Rural MLA Laxmi Hebbalkar in the money-laundering case.

The 57-year old Congress leader was lodged at Tihar Jail, where another Congress leader P Chidambaram is lodged in an alleged corruption case.

The ED had in September last year registered the money laundering case against Shivakumar, Haumanthaiah an employee at Karnataka Bhavan in New Delhi, and others.

The case was based on a charge sheet (prosecution complaint) filed by the Income Tax Department against them last year before a special court in Bengaluru on charges of alleged tax evasion and ''hawala'' transactions worth crores of rupees.

The I-T department has accused Shivakumar and his alleged associate S K Sharma of indulging in transactions involving huge amounts of unaccounted money on a regular basis through ''hawala'' channels with the help of three other accused.