Karuvannur co-op bank ‘scam': CPM dist unit, party MP named in ED chargesheet
The Enforcement Directorate on Monday submitted a chargesheet in a special court in Kochi in connection with the 2021 Karuvannur Co-operative Bank money laundering case, naming ruling CPI(M) party's Thrissur district committee as an accused along with its eight party leaders including Lok Sabha MP K Radhakrishnan, former state minister A C Moitheen and former Thrissur district secretary M M Varghese.
With this, the total number of accused in the case now stands at 83. The central agency said that the accused made a monetary gain of Rs 180 crore through the alleged fraud.
CPI(M) state secretary M V Govindan called the chargesheet a 'political conspiracy' and said that the case will be fought legally as well as politically. 'Party had taken action against those who had taken the wrong approach in the bank issue. But ED had foisted the case on three leaders who had served as party district secretary. People of Kerala will give a fitting reply to the ED, an agency engaged in spreading lies,'' he said.
The State Crime Branch police, which had initially investigated the case, said that an estimated Rs 300 crore had been siphoned off by functionaries from the CPI(M)-controlled bank. Later, ED initiated a probe under PMLA and confiscated assets worth Rs 128 crore.
The ED alleged that the three leaders — Radhakrishnan, Moitheen and Varghese — during their stints as the district secretary of the CPI(M) had assisted the other accused persons to avail illegal loans and a certain amount from the illegal loans was channelised to the party fund.
Two party committees were controlling the bank's governing body. All three were at various stages the party's district secretary in Thrissur.
According to the chargesheet, a bank employee Biju M K, who was made an approver, had confessed before a magistrate court that the CPI(M) district committee members, including the secretary, had put pressure on the bank authorities for granting illegal loans and obtain a certain part it from borrowers as contribution to CPI(M) fund.
Radhakrishnan, who had served as party's district secretary from 2016 to 2018, had knowingly assisted the accused persons, who availed illegal loans, for raising funds for CPI(M) from the illegal loan amount, the chargesheet said.
During Varghese term as CPI(M) district secretary from 2018 to 2020, the ED said, bank accounts were opened illegally against the by-laws of the society for collecting funds from benami loanees and used for purchasing immovable property for the party.
Moitheen had served as the party's district secretary from 2011 to 2016 and as per the chargesheet he also assisted the accused persons who availed illegal loans, for raising funds for the CPI(M) from illegal loan amounts.
'… CPI(M) has collected illegal amounts from the benami borrowers of the bank as commission for arranging such illegal loans which is nothing but proceeds of crime. The amount collected from illegal loans were utilized for their local expenses, election meetings, purchase of unaccounted lands and buildings for party office, party office furniture etc,' the chargesheet said.
'… similar undisclosed accounts were being maintained by the CPI(M) party at every level in every district in a decentralized manner. Therefore CPI(M) party is indulged in the process of money laundering and thereby CPI(M) party is guilty of the offence of money laundering as specified under Section 3 which is punishable under section 4 of the said Act,' it said.
This is only the second instance where the federal probe agency has named a political outfit as an accused under the PMLA. Last year, it had named the AAP as an accused in the alleged liquor scam case.
CWC member and senior party leader in Kerala Ramesh Chennithala questioned why the central agency did not arrest the three leaders.
'This shows the deal between CPI(M) and Sangh Parivar in Thrissur where BJP won in the last Lok Sabha elections. BJP is blackmailing CPI(M) using the ED case,'' he said.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Indian Express
24 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Accountant of 5-star hotel chain near Gujarat's Statue of Unity booked for embezzling hotel money
The Gujarat Police on Saturday booked the accountant of a five-star hotel located near the Statue of Unity in Ekta Nagar in Narmada district for allegedly embezzling Rs 51.34 lakh. According to the manager of the Ramada hotel, the accused, Ravikiran Tiwari, allegedly diverted funds into his accounts instead of depositing them in the account of the hotel, following the collection of cash during the contentious financial years. The First Information Report stated that the accused had informed the complainant, Manojkumar Maharaj, the manager of two properties of Ramada chain of hotels in Ekta Nagar, that Rs 51.34 lakh were not reflected in the balance sheets of the hotels for the year 2023-24 as the 'online tag' was pending and would be done shortly. However, the complainant approached the police when the amount was not reflected in the accounts or the balance sheets of the following year, 2024-25. The FIR states, 'During the audit of the balance sheet of the year 2023-24, it came to light that the annual turnover for the financial year was reported as Rs 2.17 crore. However, there was a discrepancy of an amount of Rs 46.74 lakh at Ramada and Rs 4.6 lakh at Hotel Comfort. When we questioned Tiwari, he said that the amount did not reflect due to a pending online tag and would show up in the total soon. However, on May 22, when the balance sheet of the following year (2024-25) was audited, the amount from the previous year did not reflect…' The FIR further states that when the complainant tried to seek an explanation from Tiwari, he refused to take responsibility, allegedly stating that he had already quit the post of accountant. The complainant has said that on checking the accounts registers, it was found that Tiwari had allegedly signed to show that the money had been transferred but the amount was 'never deposited in the bank accounts of the two hotels'. The Kevadia police have booked Tiwari under Indian Penal Code Sections for criminal breach of trust.
New Indian Express
32 minutes ago
- New Indian Express
Gujarat Information Commission demands end to CID's RTI exemption in cyber fraud cases
AHMEDABAD: In a game-changing decision, the Gujarat State Information Commission has slammed the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) (Crime) for hiding behind a 19-year-old RTI exemption to deny critical information to cyber fraud victims. The Commission has now recommended the state government revoke the special immunity granted to CID Crime regarding cyber fraud cases—delivering a major win for transparency and the rights of hundreds of duped citizens. The exemption, in effect since October 25, 2005, under a Home Department notification, placed CID Crime beyond the purview of the Right to Information Act for crime-related investigations. However, the recent judgment has pierced this shield in the context of cybercrime, which the Commission argued is no longer a conventional 'sensitive crime' but a rapidly escalating public menace impacting citizens daily. The ruling stemmed from a plea by Rakesh Kumar Prajapati, a Gandhinagar resident who lost Rs 4.5 lakh to cyber fraud. After filing a complaint with the Cyber Crime Cell, Prajapati sought the FIR copy and related documents under the RTI Act. CID Crime rejected his request, citing the 2005 exemption. Unwilling to accept silence in the face of theft, Prajapati took the matter to the State Information Commission.
News18
an hour ago
- News18
Monkey Turns Thief, Snatches Bag With Rs 20 Lakh Jewellery Near Banke Bihari Temple
Last Updated: The surreal theft highlights an all-too-familiar problem in temple towns—mischievous monkeys turning into petty criminals amid crowds of devotees. Faith and chaos collided in a bizarre episode outside the revered Thakur Banke Bihari Temple in Uttar Pradesh's Vrindavan after a monkey snatched a devotee's purse containing jewellery worth over Rs 20 lakh. The police, with the help of CCTV footage, recovered the bag later. The surreal theft highlights an all-too-familiar problem in temple towns—mischievous monkeys turning into petty criminals amid crowds of devotees. As per the media reports, Abhishek Agarwal, a resident of Aligarh, had come to Vrindavan with his family and was exiting the temple when a monkey snatched the purse from his wife and vanished through the maze of ancient constructions and narrow lanes. The woman had taken off the jewellery she was wearing and kept them in the bag for safekeeping while visiting the temple. The locals tried to rescue the purse from the monkey but failed in their attempt, following which police were informed. How The Police Recovered The Bag? After being informed, police personnel reached the spot and Banke Bihari outpost in-charge Prashant Kapil launched a search operation. With help from CCTV footage and fieldwork, the police traced the bag to a bush where it was stashed and returned it to its owner. Fortunately, all the jewellery was found intact. Sandeep Kumar, Circle Officer, Sadar, confirmed the incident and said that swift action by police led to the recovery of the snatched purse and the valuables were recovered. 'A devotee named Abhishek Agarwal came to Vrindavan with his family from Aligarh. His wife's purse contained jewellery amounting to nearly Rs 20 lakh. While returning from the Thakur Banke Bihari Temple, a monkey snatched away the bag from him," he said. 'It was by the grace of Lord Banke Bihari that I got my valuables back and I thank Vrindavan police for the help," Agarwal said. There have been several stories of mischievous monkeys in Vrindavan. In March this year, a report emerged claiming that a monkey there swapped a Samsung S25 Ultra for a mango drink. First Published:
