On Wednesday, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) simultaneously raided 15 properties across Karnataka, Maharashtra and Goa that belong to Karnataka minister Sathish Jarakiholi, his relatives and close associates, as part of a money‑laundering investigation.
The raid on the Belagavi residence of Manjunath, an Additional Commissioner in the Excise Department and a close associate of the minister, was the second such operation; a prior raid on June 24 seized assets worth ₹13.3 crore, including ₹5.5 crore in cash, ₹7.8 crore of gold jewellery, foreign currency and property documents, which also revealed that Manjunath and the minister’s son Rahul Jarakiholi are partners in several businesses.
ED officials also entered the home of Dr. Girish Sonavalkar, a close confidant of the minister, located in the Lakshmitekadi area of Belagavi, where investigations have now begun.
Further searches targeted the houses of businessmen Raju Dhargashhetti and Vitthal Parasannavar in Belagavi, both identified as close associates of the minister.
In Gokak, the enforcement team raided the minister’s own residence in the Hill Garden locality and the properties of two of his close associates in the city.
The operation involved ED teams from Bangalore and Goa, with paramilitary forces deployed for security.
