The hammer of justice fell hard on Bengaluru’s BMS Educational Trust as ED attached assets valued at ₹19.46 crore. This bold strike disrupts a notorious money laundering web fueled by engineering seat racketeering.
Three prime properties—a plot in a high-value area and two upscale flats—were provisionally confiscated on January 21, 2026, under PMLA. Linked directly to trust trustees, they represent proceeds of crime from a scam probed since police FIRs in 2025.
At its core, the fraud exploited management quota seats in colleges like BMS College of Engineering. Officials and agents orchestrated cash-only deals, pocketing sums dwarfing prescribed fees. No receipts, no records—just pure, untraceable profit.
Flashback to ED raids on May 26 and June 25, 2025: operatives nabbed ₹1.86 crore in undeclared cash. Forensic digs into diaries, WhatsApp exchanges, and files confirmed ₹20.20 crore in ghost revenues, corroborated by rattled staff and brokers.
Trustees allegedly siphoned these ill-gotten gains into personal empires, betraying their educational mandate. Families, desperate for their children’s futures, became unwitting victims, burdened by secret payouts.
Beyond finances, the racket sidelined talented youth, perpetuating inequality in access to quality engineering education. ED frames it as systemic corruption demanding eradication.
Investigators press on, vowing to dismantle the entire syndicate. This high-profile attachment underscores growing scrutiny on private institutions, promising a cleaner, fairer admission ecosystem for all.