Bengaluru: In the now Rs 17000 crore IMA Jewels scam, it has come to light that an IAS officer with the Government of Karnataka, foiled the lobbying efforts of a senior state minister to give IMA founder-owner Mohammed Mansoor Khan a Rs 600 crore bailout.
It can be noted that, after Khan fled to Dubai, allegations have been made that he could not have fled without help from the authorities.
Some sources say that Khan visited the senior minister’s office in the Vidhana Soudha accompanied by a Muslim politician during Ramzan to float the bail-out plan.
Sources told TOI that Khan had tried to apply for a bank loan earlier this year, but when the bank realised that IMA Jewels was under the RBI’s scanner, they asked him to furnish a no-objection certificate (NOC) from the state government. It is learnt that Khan had approached the state minister for this purpose, however, the plan was foiled by the IAS officer who refused to sign the papers.
Reportedly, the minister tried to force the officer to pass the NOC, while knowing the IMA Group’s background and Khan’s financial status. Sources told TOI that the minister finally gave up when the officer would not budge.
According to the source, the officer had a similar experience in the past and armed with this, the officer did not relent to the minister’s pressure.
