Bengaluru: A retired excise guard and his daughter have been sentenced to rigorous imprisonment in a money-laundering case.
The case originated from an FIR registered by Lokayukta police in 2009, following allegations that Ramachandra had assets disproportionate to his known sources of income.
Because she had knowingly assisted in holding the property purchased with the proceeds of crime in her name, the court said, yurekha was held liable as a participant in the offence.
A special court, which pronounced the judgment on Oct 14, also ordered the confiscation of five properties and directed the registration of a separate perjury case against a defence witness for giving false testimony during the trial. The court sentenced Ramachandra to five years of rigorous imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 5 lakh. Yurekha was sentenced to three years of rigorous imprisonment and fined Rs 3 lakh, with an additional year of simple imprisonment in case of default. In the underlying disproportionate assets case, the trial court, in a judgment delivered on Nov 8, 2024, convicted Ramachandra under Prevention of Corruption Act. He was sentenced to three years of rigorous imprisonment and fined Rs 50 lakh. The court assessed his disproportionate assets at Rs 42.5 lakh, amounting to over 97.7% of his known income.
ED’s investigation and evidence established the money-laundering offence against both accused, the court said. In case of default of payment, he will undergo two years of simple imprisonment. The claims by the father and daughter that construction of a property at Vijayanagar was financed by their mother, who had purchased the sites, were not supported by documentary evidence. In a separate order, the court directed the registration of a perjury case against M Jayaram, who testified as a defence witness.