The ED initiated money laundering investigation on the basis of first information reports (FIRs) registered by Kerala Police under Section 420 of IPC.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached assets worth Rs 30.7 crore of Bijoy A.K., commission agent of the Karuvannur Service Co-operative Bank, in connection with its probe into the multi-crore loan scam in Thrissur.
The assets were seized under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, in fraud and cheating case. The attached assets include 20 immovable properties consisting of land and building in Kerala, two vehicles (Innova and Audi), and cash seized from his house (Rs 3.4 lakh and foreign currency equivalent to Rs 2.08 lakh). The balance in nearly 57 bank accounts of Bijoy and his firms was Rs 35.86 lakh, according to an official release.
Loan sanctioned illegally
Bijoy was illegally sanctioned loan to the tune of Rs 26.6 crore in cash without any collateral following a conspiracy hatched by the secretary and committee members of the bank since 2010, it said.
The ED initiated money laundering investigation on the basis of first information reports (FIRs) registered by Kerala Police under Section 420 of IPC. The Crime Branch had registered more than 16 FIRs in Thrissur related to the fraud.
Multiple bogus loans
The money-laundering investigation carried out so far has revealed that multiple bogus loans were sanctioned by the bank on the same property without the knowledge of the society members. The loan amounts were disbursed in cash and huge cash deposits were found in the books of the bank.
The Karuvannur Service Co-Operative Bank is under the scrutiny of the Registrar of Co-Operative Societies in Thiruvananthapuram. After the FIR was registered in July 2021, the Registrar in its audit found diversion of more than Rs 100 crore, according to the release.
Vigilance court order
Meanwhile, the Thrissur Vigilance court has ordered that assets of five accused in the co-operative bank scam be attached.
Apart from Bijoy, assets of bank manager Biju Karim, accountant C.K. Jills, the cashier of a supermarket of the bank Reji K. Anil will be attached in connection with the fraud. In all, 58 assets amassed by the accused from the year 2011 to 2021 will be attached. This includes nine acres of land owned by Bijoy in Peerumedu. The other assets are at Thrissur, Irinjalakuda, Chalakudy, Mathilakam, Anthikkad and Kalletinkara.
