The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) raided 15 locations in Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh on Friday (November 8) in connection with I Monetary Advisory (IMA) scam.

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The Central Bureau of InvestigationChandan Khanna/AFP/Getty Images

Out of the 15 locations, the raids were carried out at 11 places in Bengaluru and each in Mandya, Ramanagara, Belgaum and one place in Meerut, UP. The residences of top serving IPS officers from Karnataka were also raided by the agency.

The raids were conducted at the residences of former IG Economic Offences Wing CID Hemant Nimbalkar, SP Ajay Hilori, DySP CID EB Sridhar and Inspector, SHO Commercial Street Police Station M Ramesh, SI of Commercial Street police station Gowri Shankar, then ACP Bengaluru North Sub Division and competent authority under KPID Act LC Nagaraj, then DCO Bengaluru Urban District BM Vijayshankar and PD Kumar, then BDA chief engineer.

SIT arrests top officers

LC Nagaraj and BM Vijay Shankar were arrested by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) in July for misusing their position and for extorting money. Nagaraj had received Rs 4.5 crore bribe for issuing a no-objection certificate (NOC) to IMA kingpin Mohammed Mansoor Khan in order to raise a bank loan.

IMA scam busted
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SIT recovers Rs 2.5 cr cash

Nagaraj was appointed by the Karnataka government as a competent authority to probe over the functioning of IMA after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issued a circular against the firm. He knew about the financial irregularities committed by IMA but concealed the facts and submitted a clean report favouring the firm.

The SIT had recovered Rs 2.5 crore cash from BM Vijay Shankar after which he was arrested by the agency for his involvement with the fraudulent firm. The CBI in September had recorded the statements made by the senior IPS officers Hemant Nimbalkar and Ajay Hilori.

Nimbalkar is accused of giving a clean chit to the IMA despite the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issuing a notice to the firm and ordering an investigation over its dealings.