Thiruvithamcore Cooperative Society scam victims fear delay in payments

The cooperative society governed by a BJP-led administration is facing allegations of party leaders being involved in the fraud.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Pointing to the enormity of the alleged scam at the Thiruvithamcore Cooperative Society, 92 of the 300 depositors — who have invested a total of Rs 41 crore — have so far lodged complaints with the Fort police station in Thiruvananthapuram. The cooperative society governed by a BJP-led administration is facing allegations of party leaders being involved in the fraud.

The society, which began operations in 2004, is now under the control of an administrator after the governing board members refused to participate in an election held in July. The police have said the governing board members are in hiding.

According to an audit report, the governing committee’s lapses caused a financial loss of Rs 32 crore. The primary accused in the FIR include the society’s president, secretary, and several former committee members. While the cooperative society has assured depositors that their money along with interest will be recovered from governing board members, many victims fear delays in the process. The Thiruvithamcore Cooperative Society has branches in Manacaud, Sasthamangalam, and Kannammoola.

Artist Sajitha Shankar is among the victims of the scam. Having invested her savings of 10 years, she has been protesting to get her money back.

“I had deposited the prize money I received for my paintings and through sales. A year and a half ago, when I tried to withdraw `2 lakh for a trip, the bank claimed they had no money. They eventually gave it in several installments. But when I tried to withdraw more, the same excuse was given. It has been a constant battle to get even small amounts. Despite my repeated protests, they continue to make excuses and delay payments,” Sajitha said.

The depositors approached the police and the cooperative department after failing to receive their funds even after the deposit period had expired. Some had deposited up to Rs 50 lakh. “Many complainants are coming forward daily. Cases are being filed and an investigation is on,” said a police officer.

The Fort Police have registered over 15 cases against the society’s headquarters located at Thakaraparambu and the Manacaud branch, with the president and the secretary as the main accused. Though the fraud was exposed, no action has been taken by the government, Sajitha alleged.

“Now, an FIR has been registered. Like me, most depositors are ordinary people. We were informed at the police station that the fraud exceeds `5 crore and that the case will be handed over to the Crime Branch. Until action is taken, the protest will definitely continue,” she added. The cooperative department has decided to recover the amount with interest from the governing board members, but the victims are concerned about how quickly this will happen. According to the audit report, the loss should be recovered from those who were on the governing board during the period.

Senior BJP leader M S Kumar, a former president of the society, said the Covid lockdown, along with speculations following the Karuvannur scam, led to the current crisis.

“Since 2022, no new deposits came in. Most depositors came to withdraw their money quickly after hearing the news about numerous bank frauds. Loan repayments came down during the lockdown period. The bank still needs to recover Rs 32 crore from the loans it has given, while it owes `41 crore to the depositors. The difference in these amounts comes from the operational costs incurred in running the bank,” Kumar said.

Before the Covid outbreak, deposits up to `7 crore were regularly coming in, he said. “The decline in deposits happened after the Karuvannur scam case. An administrator is now in charge, holding all the powers of the board members. So, it isn’t right to put all the blame on the board members,” he said.

G32 crore loss

• 300 depositors have invested a total of D41 crore in the bank

• 92 of them have lodged complaints with Fort Police

• According to an audit report, the governing committee’s lapses caused a financial loss of D32 crore

• The primary accused in the FIR include the society’s president, secretary, and several former committee members