KOZHIKODE: CPM leader and former minister A K Balan cautioned the Kerala State Financial Enterprises (KSFE) employees against engaging in irregularities that could potentially aid central agencies.
Speaking at the conference of the KSFE Officers Union here on Saturday, he referred to a previous case of irregularities amounting to Rs 25 crore unearthed at the KSFE Cooperative Society. “There were 24 accused in the case, and 21 among them were people from within your ranks. The majority of them were innocent,” he said.
“How was an establishment destroyed, and how was the irregularity that lasted for 10 years detected? We were here well before the Karuvannur incident. We have a great responsibility to keep KSFE intact,” Balan said.
He emphasised the need to safeguard the integrity of KSFE, highlighting the detrimental consequences that fraudulent activities can have on the institution. Balan explained that certain individuals had compromised the auditing process by bribing officials from cooperative departments.
Fake chitters were introduced in certain branches to meet unrealistic targets, leading to the creation of fabricated documents using false names, forged signatures, and counterfeit cheques.
“Have you considered the serious financial crisis it caused? This could endanger the very existence of our establishment. You can observe the approach of the Central government towards the cooperative sector. Don’t be under the impression that it won’t be repeated here,” he said.
During a subsequent interaction with reporters, Balan said that he was reminding the officers of the importance of avoiding such practices in the future.
In response, BJP state president K Surendran highlighted Balan’s acknowledgement of irregularities within KSFE, drawing parallels to the previous instances uncovered in Karuvannur Bank and several service cooperative banks. The BJP has called for a comprehensive investigation into the irregularities at KSFE.