Satish Sail | Photo credit: file photo
The Enforcement Directorate (ED), Bengaluru Zonal Office, on Saturday filed a case in the Special Anti-Money Laundering Court against Mallikarjun Shipping Pvt. Ltd. and its CEO Satish Krishna Sail, who is also the Karwar MLA, in connection with the illegal export of seized iron ore, causing a loss of ₹44.09 crore to the exchequer.
According to ED officials, Mr. Sail entered into a criminal conspiracy with several accused persons to illegally purchase iron ore that was seized and stored at Belekeri port, in violation of Karnataka High Court orders and forest department’s seizure guidelines.
Originally belonging to several mining and trading companies, the ore was exported to China by the buyer with the alleged approval of Mahesh J. Biliya, port conservator in Belekeri.
How was the export?
The investigators found that Mr. Sail made payments of ₹46.18 million to the other accused for these illegal purchases. The seized ore was exported through an undisclosed foreign entity identified as JI (Hebei) Iron and Steel Investment Co. Ltd., Hong Kong (formerly Mallikarjun Shipping HK Ltd.), instead of being shipped directly to Chinese buyers, the ED allegation was to conceal and launder the proceeds of crime.
The ED alleged that the company generated ₹27.07 crore in proceeds of crime, while Mr. Sail personally received ₹2.09 crore through a Hong Kong-based entity. He also allegedly maintained several foreign bank accounts at Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong) and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), Hong Kong.
Previous seizures
Earlier searches by the ED led to the seizure of ₹1.68 crore in cash, 6.75 kg of gold and precious metals worth around ₹6.58 crore and the freezing of bank accounts holding a total of ₹14.13 crore. Three properties worth ₹21 crore have also been tentatively attached.
Mr. Sail, who was arrested during the investigation, was granted an interim medical bail which was revoked by the Special Court on November 7, 2025.
Published – 15 Nov 2025 20:26 IST
