Kochi | The Enforcement Directorate has named the ruling CPI(M) in Kerala as an accused in a fresh chargesheet filed by it in the Karuvannur Service Cooperative Bank "scam" case, official sources said.
This is only the second instance where the federal probe agency has named a political outfit as an accused under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). Last year, it had named the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which was the ruling party in Delhi at the time, as an accused in the liquor "scam" case.
Sources said the ED has named a total of 28 entities and individuals in its first supplementary chargesheet filed in this case and those arraigned include the CPI (M), its MP K Radhakrishnan, party MLA AC Moideen and others.
The CPI(M) has been named through its party secretary of Thrissur district committee, as per the sources. The cooperative bank was run by party leaders.
The Left party had earlier rejected the allegations levelled by the central probe agency, saying it would fight them legally and politically.
The prosecution complaint was filed on Monday before a special PMLA court located in Kochi.
The chargesheet has been filed under various sections of the anti-money laundering law including Section 70 (offences committed by companies and vicarious liability of its promoters), they said.
With this chargesheet, the total number of accused in this case has come to around 83, the sources said.
There were 55 accused in the first chargesheet filed in 2023. The money laundering probe stems from at least 16 FIRs registered by the Kerala Police crime branch at Thrissur in July 2021 on charges of alleged funds irregularities in the CPI(M) controlled bank worth Rs 150 crore.
The agency has claimed that the total proceeds of crime in this case are worth about Rs 300 crore, the sources said.
The agency had earlier claimed its probe found that "bogus" loans were sanctioned by the cooperative bank on the "same property multiple times" without the knowledge of the members of the society.
Benami loans were sanctioned to non-members against "inflated" property valuations in the names of other members and such loan funds were "siphoned off" and "laundered" by the accused beneficiaries, the ED had earlier said.
The agency had conducted raids in this case in August-September 2023 and arrested four persons apart from attaching assets worth Rs 128 crore.
The ED had also claimed in a press statement issued in January that benami loans were disbursed by the bank on the "instructions" of the CPI(M) district committee members and the political party, in turn, received "donations" in its coffers from such beneficiaries.
In June 2024, the agency attached a land parcel and bank deposits worth a total of Rs 73 lakh allegedly belonging to the CPI(M) in the state.
Officials had then said that this land in Thrissur attached by it was meant for the CPI(M) party office and was purchased from the alleged kickbacks obtained from the loanees or beneficiaries of the loans dished out by the cooperative bank.
The agency has relied upon the "confessional" statements of at least two accused in this case who recorded their statements before a Judicial Magistrate that the purported irregularities in the bank were orchestrated at the behest of CPI(M) Thrissur district committee leaders.
Thiruvananthapuram | The ruling CPI (M) in Kerala on Monday termed as "politically motivated" the chargesheet filed by the Enforcement Directorate against the party and its leaders in the alleged Karuvannur cooperative bank scam, and vowed to fight the case both legally and politically.
Soon after the ED filed the chargesheet at a Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Kochi, CPI (M) state secretary M V Govindan accused the central agency of trying to "tarnish" the image of the CPI (M).
Addressing reporters, he said, "But the people of the state will understand the real intention of the central agency. It's a deliberate political conspiracy to unleash propaganda suggesting that prominent leaders of the CPI (M) are accused in the case."
This is only the second instance where the probe agency has named a political outfit as an accused under the PMLA. Last year, it named the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), the ruling party in Delhi at the time, as an accused in the liquor "scam" case.
According to sources, the ED has named a total of 28 entities and individuals in its first supplementary chargesheet filed in this case, and those arraigned include the CPI (M), its MP K Radhakrishnan, party MLA A C Moideen, and others.
The CPI (M) has been named through its party secretary of the Thrissur district committee.
Referring to the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau case filed against an ED official for alleged bribery in Kerala, Govindan said at a time when a senior ED official in the state was facing a vigilance probe, the agency was attempting to portray the ruling CPI (M) as an accused in the scam.
He claimed that of the total 193 cases registered by the ED in the last 10 years in the country, convictions were secured in only two cases.
Senior CPI (M) leader Moideen, who was named as an accused in the cooperative bank scam, also levelled similar allegations against the ED.
The ED's attempt to protect the interests of the ruling party at the Centre has already been exposed, he said.
"The CPI (M) has no connection with the scam. We are not claiming that no irregularities occurred in the Karuvannur Cooperative Bank. The state government had already initiated stringent legal measures against the culprits, and a Crime Branch investigation was underway when the ED intervened," he told media in Thrissur.
Reiterating the allegation that the central agency's move was a witch-hunt against the CPI (M) ahead of the upcoming local body and assembly polls, he charged the agency with "trying to shield" the real culprits by turning them into approvers in the case.
However, senior Congress leader Anil Akkara launched a scathing attack against both the ED and the CPI (M) over the chargesheet, alleging that it was evidence of a secret deal between the BJP and the Marxist party.
It is a "censored chargesheet" as part of the CPI (M)-BJP deal, he claimed.
"The ED claims that it is the final chargesheet, but I consider it a partial one. It is a chargesheet that completely protects the leaders of the CPI (M)," the Congress leader alleged.
The money laundering probe stems from at least 16 FIRs registered by the Kerala police crime branch at Thrissur in July 2021 on charges of alleged financial irregularities in the CPI(M) controlled bank worth Rs 150 crore.
The agency has claimed that the total proceeds of crime in this case are worth about Rs 300 crore, the sources said.