Bengaluru woman arrested by ED in money-laundering case: ‘Claimed proximity with high-profile politicians’ (2025)

A woman from Karnataka's Bengaluru was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) as part of a money-laundering probe against her, in which the agency reportedly said that the accused claimed proximity with various "high-profile" politicians.

The ED on Saturday said the woman, Aishwarya Gowda, has been arrested for allegedly cheating people by promising them high returns against gold, cash and bank deposits, according to ANI news agency.

Aishwarya Gowda, 33, was taken into custody on April 24 and a special court set up under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in Bengaluru sent her to the ED's custody for 14 days, the federal agency said in a statement.

The ED conducted searches in connection with the case at 14 locations in Karnataka on April 24-25, including premises linked to Congress MLA Vinay Kulkarni were also searched.

Kulkarni had told reporters that he was being harassed by the agency for the last one month.

"There should be some limit to troubling a person. It pains me to see people misusing the power they have. They want to finish me off politically and cut me off from people," he had said, as quoted by ANI.

Kulkarni had also denied of any financial dealings between him and Aishwarya Gowda, saying if there was any such dealing, it could be traced easily.

The ED said its probe against Aishwarya Gowda and her husband, Harish KN, besides others stems from various FIRs filed at different Karnataka police stations.

Allegations against Aishwarya Gowda, her husband

The allegation in the FIRs, as per the ED, is that Aishwarya Gowda, her husband and others entered into a criminal conspiracy to "cheat" several individuals by taking gold, cash and funds through bank accounts from them and promising a "high rate" of return.

"However, the accused neither returned the money nor gave the promised return. She also threatened the investors of dire consequences in case of further pursuance of the matter by claiming her proximity to various high-profile politicians," the ANI reported quoted ED.

The central probe agency said her custodial interrogation is under progress.

"Incriminating" documents related to money-laundering activities, digital devices and ₹2.25 crore in cash were seized during the searches, ED added.

Hitting out at the ED action against Kulkarni, Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah had called it "political vendetta".

The ED raids are the outcome of the politics of vengeance and the BJP-led Centre often orders such action, Siddaramaiah told reporters at Chamarajanagar on Friday.

Siddaramaiah also sought to know why the agency never raids properties owned by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders.

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