The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) has arrested the suspected swindler Aishwarya Gowda, 33, for money laundering in a case involving the cheating of affluent individuals in Karnataka by parading connections to the top political leaders in the state.
According to an Indian Express Report, The ED arrested Aishwarya Gowda on Thursday, in a money laundering case for beating gullible victims of over ₹ 20 crore by promising high returns on the investments made through her. Gowda was produced before the court on Thursday, and was remanded to the ED custody for 2 weeks for further investigation.
Gowda is said to have impersonated the sister of Karnataka Congress leaders D K Suresh, and D K Shivakumar, in order to meet wealthy doctors and entrepreneurs. In the past year, Bengaluru police have charged her in four cheating cases.
She is also being accused of gaining access to the call detail records of one of her alleged victims – Vanitha Aithal, a jewellery store owner, who has complained that Gowda defrauded her of over Rs 8 crore in goods, which would have been gold and money, with the promise of substantial returns, and then betrayed her trust.
Besides the jeweller, Gowda reportedly duped two doctors who run a plastic surgery centre, a maternity doctor, and a businessman’s family in Mandya too.
Reportedly, during this scam, Gowda posed as a wealthy real estate dealer to have interaction with doctors, businessmen and politicians, before then targeting some of them for fraud, police sources said. They said that she also used a suite in a luxury hotel in north Bengaluru to convey the impression that she was wealthy. “She had bodyguards, and you should have seen the fleet of luxury cars,” a police source said.
Congress Member of Legislative Assembly Vinay Kulkarni has been named among politicians believed to have been associated with Gowda, and the public domain holds photos of their closeness. She is also said to have given him a luxury vehicle, but Kulkarni has asserted that there was no benefit from Gowda or relationship beyond her acquaintance. On Thursday, that same day, the Enforcement Directorate searched the premises of Kulkarni as well as other persons associated with Gowda.
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