Bengaluru: An FIR has been registered against Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, along with other senior leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Karnataka, accusing them of misusing the electoral bond scheme for extortion purposes.

According to Kashmir Media Service, the FIR was initiated following a Bengaluru court’s directive, implicating Sitharaman, BJP’s state chief BY Vijayendra, and former Karnataka BJP chief Nalin Kumar Kateel. The legal charges include sections of the Indian Penal Code for extortion, criminal conspiracy, and actions undertaken with common intent.

The court action stemmed from a private complaint lodged by activist Adarsh R Iyer, representing the non-governmental organization Janaadhikaara Sangharsha Parishath. The complaint alleges that Sitharaman and several BJP officials collaborated with Enforcement Directorate officers to extort significant sums from companies through the coercive use of electoral bonds, totaling over 8,000 crores of Indian Rupees.

Iyer’s allegations detail a scheme where corporate entities were purportedly compelled through government raids, seizures, and arrests to contribute financially to the BJP via electoral bonds, a method intended for transparent political funding.