Karwar MLA Satish Krishna Sail Arrested by ED in ₹86.78 Crore Illegal Iron Ore Export Case

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday arrested Karnataka Congress MLA Satish Krishna Sail, who represents the Karwar-Ankola constituency, in connection with a money laundering case related to illegal iron ore exports worth ₹86.78 crore from Belekeri port in Ankola.

Sail is the second Congress legislator in Karnataka to be arrested in less than a month. Earlier, K C Veerendra Puppy, MLA from Chitradurga, was held in a separate illegal betting case.

The ED launched an investigation after a Bengaluru court convicted Sail under the Prevention of Corruption Act. Subsequent raids on August 13 and 14 at his residence and office premises uncovered significant evidence.

According to the ED, Sail allegedly collaborated with port officials and business entities to illegally export around 1.25 lakh metric tonnes of iron ore fines between April and June 2010—despite the material being under a seizure order from the Forest Department.

“The total value of the illegal exports carried out by Satish Krishna Sail through this company was ₹86.78 crore,” the ED said in an official statement.

During the raids, officials recovered ₹1.41 crore in cash from Sail’s home and ₹27 lakh from the office of M/s Sri Lal Mahal Ltd. Additionally, 6.75 kg of gold, including both jewellery and bullion, was seized from a family bank locker.

The ED has also frozen multiple bank accounts linked to Sail and related firms—M/s Shree Mallikarjun Shipping Pvt Ltd, M/s Ashapura Minechem Ltd, among others—holding a total of ₹14.13 crore.

The searches reportedly yielded incriminating documents, emails, and financial records that support the ED’s allegations of money laundering and corruption.

The arrest has sparked political debate in the state, as the Congress party faces fresh questions about corruption within its ranks.