KOCHI: Enforcement Directorate (ED) probing the Karuvannur Bank case interrogated CPM state committee member and Kerala Bank vice-president M K Kannan for the second time on Friday. ED also questioned retired SP K M Antony and Irinjalakuda DySP Famous Varghese.
Kannan, who was earlier questioned by ED on Monday, turned up at the agency’s office in Kochi around 10.45 a.m. He was interrogated for over four hours. Around 3.20 pm, he came out of the ED office. ED officials said that Kannan’s interrogation could not be completed as he was physically down. They said Kannan developed shivering during questioning. Following this, it was decided to question him another day.
However, Kannan denied that he had any physical issues. Unlike earlier, Kannan did not raise any allegation against ED officials or their interrogation procedure. “ED has not informed me about the next interrogation date. I will appear when they inform me about it,” he said.
Meanwhile, ED officials for the first time questioned retired SP K M Antony and DySP Famous Varghese till evening. While questioning prime accused Satheeshkumar P, ED officials came to know about his financial deals with the retired SP. According to ED officials, Satheeshkumar had borrowed around Rs 3 crore from Antony who lives in Thrissur. He paid Rs 18 lakh as interest for the loan to Antony. ED suspects that Satheeshkumar and Antony have been engaged in financial transactions for the past several years.
The allegation against Famous Varghese is that he settled a financial dispute between Satheeshkumar and Kiran P P, who was arrested by the ED earlier. Kiran had borrowed around Rs 1.5 crore from Satheeshkumar but did not return the amount. Following this Satheeshkumar lodged a complaint with the police. Later, Famous allegedly mediated and settled the matter. As part of the settlement, Kiran received Rs 2.5 crore from Karuvannur Service Cooperative Bank with the assistance of its manager Biju Karim. The money was handed over to Satheeshkumar. ED suspects that as part of the settlement, Famous received a commission from Satheeshkumar. Meanwhile, ED continued with the interrogation of Thrissur native Anil Kumar who swindled around Rs 18.5 crore from the bank on Friday also.
KANNAN MEETS CM AHEAD OF ED QUESTIONING
THRISSUR: Kerala Bank vice-chairman M K Kannan held talks with Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan before appea-ring in front of the ED for questioning in the Karuvannur Bank scam on Friday. The CM arrived in Thrissur to attend a government function. When asked, Kannan said issues related to the bank scam were not discussed.
‘DIRECTOR BOARD TO DISCUSS KARUVANNUR ISSUE’
T’PURAM: Speculations are rife that Kerala Bank may fund the Karuvannur Service Cooperat-ive Bank to tide over the crisis being faced by it. Kerala Bank vice-president M K Kannan on Friday said the bank’s director board will discuss the matter. Kannan said D70 crore would help resolve the crisis. Howe-ver, Kerala Bank president Gopi Kottamurickal said he was unaware of the proposal.