Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials from the Kochi zonal office on Wednesday conducted raids on the houses of five accused in the ₹100-crore Karuvannur Service Cooperative Bank fraud.
The raids were conducted simultaneously on the houses of Bejoy, Sunil Kumar, Jilse, Biju Karim and Divakaran. The raids were conducted under tight security provided by the Central Industrial Security Force.
The scam at the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)]-led bank came to light in 2019. The scam invited national attention recently after an elderly woman, who was allegedly denied money for treatment from her deposit in the bank, died at Government Medical College Hospital, Thrissur. Though the deposit was returned to the family later, the incident put the CPI(M) in a tight spot.
The Kerala High Court intervened in the issue last week and asked the bank to stop all payments, apart from emergency ones, and submit a detailed report on how the depositors’ money would be returned.
It is reported that the ED raid was to recover the forged documents used by the accused to avail themselves of loans and deposit money in the bank. There has been allegations that actual amount of fraud in the bank is more than ₹300 crore.
The raid started around 8.30 a.m. on Wednesday. It is reported that all the documents related to the scam are with the Crime Brach, which is currently investigating the case. The ED team has conducted checks at the bank head office too.
It was found that the accused have invested the money in land and resorts in Thekkady and Kumili. There are allegations about the involvement of many prominent political leaders in the scam. Currently the bank is under administrative rule.
Welcoming the ED move, many depositors expressed hope that they may get back their money soon. Even after an year, no step had been taken to solve the crisis, they alleged.
