Kochi, Jan 21 (IANS) In a significant development, the Directorate of Enforcement (ED), Kochi Zonal Office, has provisionally attached assets worth Rs 10.98 crore in connection with the ongoing investigation into the Karuvannur Service Co-operative Bank fraud case.
The attached assets include one movable property and 24 immovable properties, comprising land and buildings located in Kerala. The immovable properties are valued at approximately Rs 10.48 crore, while the movable property, in the form of a cash deposit, is valued at Rs 50.53 lakh.
The ED’s investigation was initiated based on an FIR filed by Kerala Police under Section 420 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), 1860. The Crime Branch of Kerala Police has already registered over 16 FIRs in Thrissur District regarding fraud at Karuvannur Service Co-operative Bank Ltd.
According to the ED, loans were illegally sanctioned and disbursed to individuals and their benamis from Karuvannur Service Co-operative Bank Ltd. The loans were granted without collateral through a systematic conspiracy involving the bank’s secretary, committee members, and the bank manager, all of whom were allegedly in collusion since 2010.
The investigation revealed that the Karuvannur bank sanctioned bogus loans on the same properties multiple times, often without the knowledge of the bank’s members.
In addition, loans were disbursed to non-members against inflated property valuations, with the funds subsequently siphoned off and laundered by the accused beneficiaries. The disbursement of these loans was reportedly done at the behest of CPI (M) District Committee members who controlled the bank's governing body.
In return, the CPI (M) party allegedly received donations from the beneficiaries through the governing body. Cash disbursements were made for these loans, and huge cash deposits were found in the bank’s books.
The Karuvannur Service Co-operative Bank has been under scrutiny by the Registrar of Co-operative Societies in Thiruvananthapuram. Following an FIR filed in July 2021, the Registrar’s audit report revealed the diversion of over Rs 150 crore.
Earlier investigations by the ED included searches at 20 locations and surveys at five cooperative banks in Thrissur between August and September 2023 to uncover the proceeds of crime (POC).
The ED has already arrested four individuals—P. Sathishkumar, Kiran P.P., Aravindakshan P.R., and Jilse C.K.—on charges of benefiting from the illegally sanctioned loans. These individuals were arrested in September 2023 under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.
In earlier phases of the investigation, the ED attached properties worth Rs 117.83 crore belonging to Bijoy and others, who were also found to have received illegal loans from the bank. To date, the total proceeds of crime (POC) attached by the ED in this case amount to Rs 128.72 crore. The investigation is ongoing, and further developments are expected.
