KOCHI: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday questioned a depositor who allegedly lost money in the Nemom Service Cooperative Bank (NSCB) as part of its ongoing probe into suspected financial irregularities at the bank.
Officials recorded the depositor’s statement at the agency’s Kochi office to gather details on fund mobilisation, transaction patterns, and the alleged diversion of deposits. A source said more depositors who claim to have lost money in NSCB and Nedumparambil Credit Syndicate (NCS) will be summoned in the coming days. The move comes days after the ED questioned former NSCB president R Pradeep Kumar and NCS owner N M Raju in connection with the case. Investigators are examining suspected financial irregularities involving transactions worth around `100 crore and allegations that funds collected from depositors were diverted into assets and other investments.
The source said the statements from depositors are crucial to identifying the methods used to mobilise funds, the extent of losses, and the individuals responsible.
The probe assumes political significance as NSCB has been linked to leaders of the CPM, with Pradeep Kumar being a former area committee member of the party in Nemom.