THRISSUR: Manappuram Finance MD and CEO VP Nandakumar on May 5 stated that the "ED's visit to the premises of the company was based on a malafide FIR filed by a person harbouring a personal grudge against him and his family" and had nothing to do with his company's core business.
Nandakumar said the case in question pertains to the now defunct Manappuram Agro Farms (Magro) and was a 10-year-old matter.
He also clarified that the total value of shares attached by ED was worth approximately Rs 2,000 crore (19,29,01,996 equity shares) and not around Rs 140 crore as stated, while terming the ED order that froze his assets under section 17 (1-A) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 "patently high-handed, arbitrary and unreasonable for many reasons".
"Firstly, the total amount of pending deposits to which the matter pertains (as I explain below) is less than Rs 10 lakhs which is lying lying in an escrow account. Secondly, the shares that have been frozen by the Enforcement Directorate are worth approximately Rs 2000 crores, but the value attributed to them is around Rs 140 crores. I am reviewing my legal options in this matter," he said in a press note.
"I am fully cooperating with the Enforcement Directorate as I am very clear that there is no illegality of any kind at all. The alleged matter of the deposits has already been examined in detail by all the concerned regulators and there has been no adverse order passed against me or Magro," Nandakumar went on to add.
The Enforcement Directorate had on Wednesday conducted searches at multiple premises linked to the non-banking finance company.
A total of four premises, including the headquarters of the company in Thrissur and those of its promoters, were searched and assets were seized.