KOCHI : The enforcement directorate (ED) has provisionally attached an immovable property worth Rs 25.82 lakh of former minister and senior Congress leader K Babu allegedly for money laundering by amassing disproportionate assets.
The attached property includes land owned by Babu’s family in Kochi. “The ED investigation revealed that K Babu, being a public servant during the period from July 1, 2007, to May 5, 2016, acquired assets worth Rs 25.82 lakh, which was disproportionate to his known sources of income. This inquiry also said that, thereby, he had committed the offence under Section 13(1) (e) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, and is punishable under Section 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. Babu had derived/obtained the proceeds of the crime in the form of movable and immovable properties to the extent of Rs 25.82 lakh,” stated in the ED press release.
It was the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) Ernakulam Special Cell which first registered the Disproportionate Assets (DA) case against Babu, and his close aides Baburam and Mohanan. However, by giving a clean chit to Baburam and Mohanan, the Vigilance filed a chargesheet against Babu in March 2018.