ED Names CPI(M) and Senior Leaders in Karuvannur Co-op Bank Scam Chargesheet

Kochi, The Enforcement Directorate has named the ruling CPI in Kerala as an accused in a new chargesheet consigned by it in Karuvannur Service Cooperative Bank “scam” case, official sources said.

This is only the second time the federal probe agency has identified a political party as an accused under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. Last year it named the Aam Aadmi Party, who were the ruling party in Delhi at the time, as an accused in the liquor “scam” case.

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The sources said the ED has named a total of 28 entities and persons in its first supplementary chargesheet filed in the case and those accused include the CPI, its MP K. Radhakrishnan, party MLA AC Moideen and others.

The CPI has been cited through its party secretary of Thrissur district committee, The Left party had dismissed the allegations made by the central probe agency and it would take them on both legally and politically. The prosecution complaint was filed on Monday before a special PMLA court in Kochi. The chargesheet has been registered under different sections of the anti-money laundering law including Section 70, the sources said.

By this chargesheet the number of accused in the case has gone up to about 83 now, the sources said. There were 55 accused in the first chargesheet that was filed in 2023.

The money laundering investigation is based on at least 16 FIRs filed by the Kerala Police Crime Branch at Thrissur in July 2021 involving purported funds irregularities in the CPI controlled bank that is claimed to be worth ₹150 crore.

The agency has said that the approximate worth of the overall proceeds of crime in this case is ₹300 crore, sources added.

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Before this, the agency had claimed that its investigation revealed that the co-operative bank sanctioned "bogus" loans against the same property "multiple times", without the knowledge of the members of the co-operative society.

The ED had previously alleged that bogus loans were provided to non-members against "inflated" valuations of the properties in the names of other members, and the funds being lent were "siphoned off" and "laundered" by the accused beneficiaries.

The agency had conducted scheduled raids in this case in August-September 2023, and arrested four individuals and was able to attach properties worth ₹128 crore.

The ED also claimed in a news statement issued in January that bogus loans were provided by the bank on the "instructions" of the CPI district committee members and that the political party received "donations" in its coffers from such beneficiaries.

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