The Karnataka High Court has approved medical bail for Congress MLA Satish K Sail, who is currently in jail due to a money laundering case, to undergo a liver transplant. MLA Satish Sail must provide a liver transplantation report every two weeks and a health progress report every eight weeks as per the court’s instructions.
The court emphasized that Satish Sail should not interfere with witnesses or disrupt the trial proceedings in any way. Additionally, the MLA is required to submit a surety bond of Rs 5 lakh along with a personal surety. Satish K Sail, representing Karnataka’s Karwar constituency, was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on money laundering charges in Bengaluru on September 9, 2025.
ED officials had previously raided Satish Sail’s residence on August 13 and 14, 2025, in connection with illegal iron ore export charges, uncovering illegal assets, cash, and jewelry. The search operations spanned Karwar, Goa, Mumbai, and Delhi, targeting properties linked to Satish Sail. The ED seized a significant amount of cash, gold, and documents, packing them into two trunks.
Satish Sail became the third Congress legislator to be arrested by central agencies at that time, following the arrests of Chitradurga MLA KC Veerendra and Dharwad Rural MLA Vinay Kulkarni. In October 2024, a Special MP/MLA Court sentenced Satish Sail to seven years in prison and imposed a Rs 44 crore fine in six cases related to the Belekeri illegal iron ore export case.
In 2010, a case related to illegal iron ore exports was filed, with Satish Sail named as the second accused in the charge sheet submitted by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). However, the Karnataka High Court suspended Satish Sail’s conviction in the illegal iron ore export case on December 21, 2024. The court also instructed authorities not to announce a by-election for the Karwar Assembly constituency until his appeal is resolved, prohibiting him from attending Assembly sessions. Subsequently, he was arrested by the ED on money laundering charges.
