Congress MLA KC Veerendra, arrested by ED in Gangtok, to be brought to Bengaluru

BENGALURU: The Enforcement Directorate, which conducted searches at the residences of Chitradurga Congress MLA K C Veerendra ‘Pappi’ on Friday in connection with a money laundering case and online gaming, arrested him from Gangtok in Sikkim on Friday.

ED, Bengaluru has conducted search operation on 22-08-2025 and 23.08.2025 at 31 locations across India including Gangtok, Chitradurga District, Bangalore City, Hubli, Jodhpur, Mumbai and Goa (including 5 casinos viz. Puppy’s Casino Gold, Ocean Rivers Casino, Puppy’s Casino Pride,… pic.twitter.com/v2tvjapkdE

— ED (@dir_ed) August 23, 2025

The ED officials presented him before a local court and secured a transit warrant following which he will be brought to Bengaluru and produced before a court.

Veerendra Pappi is said to own several casinos and online gaming platforms, including Pappi’s Casino Gold, Ocean Rivers Casino and Big Daddy Casino. The ED has registered two FIRs against Pappi in connection with online gaming irregularities.

Following the raid, the ED recovered Rs 12 crore in cash, Rs 1 crore worth of foreign currency, gold worth Rs 6 crore, 10 kg of silverware, 17 bank accounts and two bank lockers, all of which have been seized. The ED had conducted raids on Veerendra’s Vasanthnagar flat and four houses at Challakere in Chitradurga district. The officials had also arrested his brother KC Nagaraj.