Karnataka Valmiki Corporation scam: Govt letter names IT firm Happiest Minds as 'beneficiary' of embezzled money

Bengaluru: A bank account named after Happiest Minds Technologies Ltd, an IT services firm promoted by billionaire tech veteran Ashok Soota, is among the ‘beneficiaries’ of public money embezzled at the state-run Karnataka Maharshi Valmiki ST Development Corporation, according to a government document.

This company’s name figures in a letter Additional Chief Secretary (Scheduled Tribes Welfare) N Manjunatha Prasad wrote to RBL Bank managing director and chief executive R Subramaniakumar on Friday, a copy of which DH has accessed.

Prasad has asked the RBL Bank to freeze the Corporation's money amounting to Rs 89 crore transferred to its accounts fraudulently from the Union Bank of India’s MG Road branch in Bengaluru.

According to the letter, the money was remitted to bank accounts as follows:

PIFUMS Management Pvt Ltd (Rs 5.35 crore), Zelliant Training and Consulting Service (Rs 4.97 crore), Happiest Minds Technologies Ltd (Rs 4.53 crore), YM Entterprises (Rs 4.98 crore), Manhu Enterprises (Rs 5.01 crore), Accord Business Services (Rs 5.46 crore), Nithya Security Services (Rs 4.47 crore), Volta Technology Services (Rs 5.12 crore), V6 Business Solutions (Rs 4.50 crore), MS Talenq Software India Pvt Ltd (Rs 5.10 crore) and Rs 40.10 crore to eight individuals.

All transactions happened under the Real-Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) system between March 5 and May 6. “As all these remittance (sic) have been based on the forged documents, I would request you to immediately freeze the entire amount and remit it back to the Karnataka Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation Ltd bank account at Union Bank of India, MG Road branch,” Prasad stated.

Explaining the fraud in his letter, Prasad said “numerous forged letters, cheques and RTGS requests” were found with “forged signatures” of the Corporation’s managing director and accounts officer were used to make “unauthorised” disbursement of funds from the MG Road branch of Union Bank of India.

“Upon verification of the passbook in detail, an amount of Rs 89,62,99,500 has been disbursed to various accounts by Union Bank of India, MG Road branch based on the forged documents. All these moneys (sic) have been deposited in RBL Bank with IFSC code RATN 0000341,” Prasad stated.

Prasad’s letter also revealed that the entire amount of Rs 89.62 crore was lien marked to Hyderabad-based First Finance Credit Cooperative Society Ltd “as the funds are transferred wrongly”.