The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has taken two individuals into custody in connection with the ongoing investigation into the multi-crore loan scandal that has rocked the Karuvannur Cooperative Bank, located in Thrissur district. Those apprehended are Satheesh Kumar, who has been alleged to be a ‘benami’ figure linked to prominent politicians, and P P Kiran, who is identified as an intermediary in the case.
The arrest of Satheesh and Kiran was officially recorded at 10 pm on Monday, following an exhaustive three-day interrogation conducted by the ED. Suspicions have been raised that Satheesh was acting as a proxy for the former minister and current legislator, AC Moideen, while Kiran is accused of embezzling a substantial sum of Rs 22 crore from the bank.
Notably, AC Moideen failed to appear before ED officials for questioning on Monday, September 4. Political sources suggest that the Communist Party of India (Marxist), or CPM, was hesitant to subject Moideen to ED interrogation before the upcoming bypoll at the Puthuppally assembly constituency, scheduled for Tuesday, September 5.
Meanwhile, the ED has sought legal advice on enhancing its actions against Moideen. Despite Moideen’s commitment to appearing for questioning on September 14, ED is showing reluctance to grant any further extensions, given that Moideen has previously abstained from questioning on two occasions, citing personal reasons.
In a related development, the ED has also taken statements from C K Chandran, a district leader of the CPM who has close ties to Moideen, and former bank manager Biju Kareem.
The ED initiated a parallel investigation into the scam following the Kerala Police’s registration of a case. This decision came in response to information received indicating not only fraudulent loan disbursements in customers’ names without their knowledge but also extensive money laundering activities within the bank.
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