BELAGAVI/BENGALURU : The Directorate of Enforcement (ED), Bengaluru zonal unit (BZU) on Wednesday searched 18 premises linked to Public Works Minister Satish Jarkiholi and his close associates in Bengaluru, Belagavi, Gokak and Kolkata, according to well-placed sources.
In Bengaluru, two teams accompanied by Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) searched Jarkiholi’s residence in Dollars Colony and office-cum-residence on Crescent Road around 6.30am. The city police were taken by surprise, said sources.
While ED officials reportedly visited the residence of Joint Commissioner, Excise, and Jarkiholi’s brother-in-law Y Manjunath in Belagavi and examined documents, the searches were not directly linked to the ED operation against him in June.
“The earlier ED searches at Manjunath’s residence when the agency allegedly recovered documents relating to Jarkiholi’s overseas investments may have resulted in Wednesday’s searches ,” said sources.
Jarkiholi family’s overseas wealth under the lens
“Some documents pertaining to alleged investments abroad by Manjunath’s wife, who is also Jarkiholi’s sister, were reportedly found,” said sources.
The Wednesday raids, reportedly conducted under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), have brought the Jarkiholi family’s alleged overseas investments and business links under the scanner.
ED is reportedly examining documents relating to suspected financial transactions and investments abroad, particularly with an African mining venture and in another country as well. Some unverified sources said Satish Jarkiholi’s son Rahul Jarkiholi and daughter, Priyanka Jarkiholi, who is Chikkodi MP, are allegedly associated with the management of a large mining company in Africa.
The ED will scrutinise the source of funds, volume and nature of investments and determine whether the minister has any direct or indirect financial interest in them.
Rwanda connection being investigated
The family’s interactions with officials from African countries have also come under scrutiny. In September 2024, Rwanda’s then Ambassador to India, Jacqueline Mukangira, had visited Belagavi. During her visit, the Balagavi district administration had organised Belagavi-Rwanda Business Meet 2024 under the chairmanship of Satish Jarkiholi where he announced his plans to open a sports school in the African country. The Rwandan diplomat later visited Gokak, where she toured Satish Sugars and Priyashakti Steel.
ED is now examining whether the diplomatic interactions led to any business dealings and alleged overseas investments linked to the PWD minister. The ED search operation on Wednesday also extended to the premises linked to several close associates of the PWD minister. The residences of Raju Daragshetti and Vittal Parasannavar in Gokak and Dr Girish Sonwalkar in Belagavi were searched, said sources.
Late in the evening, ED officials raided the Belagavi residence and office of Malagouda Patil, personal assistant of Satish Jarkiholi.
The searches at properties linked to Priyanka and other family members are part of the wider operation, they added.
Sources close to the minister said the allegations remain unproven at this stage. “No wrongdoing or violation has been established against Satish Jarkiholi or his family, and the precise findings of the ED investigation are awaited,” they added.
ED spares Satish Jarkiholi’s brothers
Interestingly, the agency did not search the residences or properties of Satish Jarkiholi’s brothers — Balachandra, Ramesh and Lakhan. Balachandra and Ramesh are BJP MLAs, while Lakhan is an independent MLC. All three are prominent businessmen with interests in several ventures, including sugar factories in Belagavi district.
