KOCHI: A special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) Court in Ernakulam on Saturday granted bail to a businessman booked and arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with a money laundering case linked to cashew imports.
The accused, Aneesh Babu, a businessman from Kollam who was taken into custody in January, was granted bail after the court noted that the investigation had been completed. The court observed that custodial interrogation was no longer required, as the chargesheet had already been filed, said sources.
The ED is likely to file an appeal against the bail order on Monday.
Aneesh was arrested by the ED on January 14 under the provisions of the PMLA. The case alleges that he and his family members swindled around Rs 25 crore from two individuals by promising to import cashew profitably from African countries.
The ED initiated its probe based on cases registered by the Kottarakkara police and the Crime Branch. The case had also sparked controversy after Aneesh alleged that an ED official demanded a bribe to drop proceedings against him, following which the Vigilance registered a case and arrested a few individuals.