June 29th 2024.
Officials have revealed that the Enforcement Directorate has taken action by attaching a piece of land and bank deposits totaling Rs 73 lakh in Kerala, which they believe to be linked to a money laundering investigation involving the Karuvannur Service Cooperative Bank 'scam'. This comes amid strong denials from the CPI, who have vehemently denied any wrongdoing or involvement in money laundering.
According to sources, a provisional order has been issued under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act to attach these assets. The attached properties include a land parcel worth Rs 10 lakh in Thrissur district and Rs 63 lakh in deposits held in five undisclosed bank accounts belonging to the political party.
The CPI has firmly rejected the allegations made by the ED and stated that they are prepared to legally and politically fight against any attempts to implicate them in the alleged multi-crore bank scam. The party's state secretary, MV Govindan, has accused the ED of targeting opposition parties and their leaders for political reasons and creating a diversion as they have failed to gather any evidence against the party.
The ED has claimed that the attached land parcel was intended to be used as the CPI party office and was purchased with kickbacks received from the loan recipients of the Karuvannur Service Cooperative Bank. The agency has based this belief on the confessional statements of two accused individuals who have named CPI leaders in their statements recorded before a judicial magistrate.
Govindan has stated that it is a common practice for party assets to be registered in the name of the district committees, and questioned the ED's motives in targeting the CPI based on the actions of one district committee. He has also asserted that the party will fight this legally and politically, and have yet to receive any official notice from the ED.
In November of last year, the ED had filed a charge sheet against 55 entities in this case. They have also informed the court that they have attached over 120 assets with an estimated value of Rs 100 crore. The money laundering probe was initiated after 16 FIRs were registered by the Kerala Police in Thrissur.
The case, which dates back to 2010, centers around the CPI-controlled Karuvannur Service Cooperative Bank and has sparked a political controversy in the state. The CPI has maintained their innocence, stating that they have not committed any wrongdoing.
The ED has disclosed that their investigation has revealed that loans were disbursed by the bank manager, on the instructions of certain district-level leaders and committee members of a political party, to non-members through an agent in cash. These loans were secured using properties of poor members without their knowledge, and the proceeds were laundered for the benefit of the accused individuals.
The agency also found that fake loans were sanctioned multiple times against the same property without the knowledge of the society members. They also discovered that benami loans were approved to non-members against inflated property valuations in the names of other members, and the funds were illegally diverted and laundered by the accused beneficiaries.
So far, four individuals have been arrested by the ED in connection with this case.
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