KOCHI: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) probing the Karuvannur Service Cooperative Bank money laundering case has unearthed a complex web of financial irregularities involving Jils C K, the bank’s former accountant. Jils has been arrested by the ED after several days of questioning.
According to ED officials, Jils managed to secure nine loans totalling Rs 4.25 crore by pledging just two properties. In one instance, Jils obtained a loan of Rs 1.5 crore in the names of three individuals—Paulson, Babu, and Sreedeep—by pledging his own property. Out of this, Rs 1.02 crore remains unpaid, and the outstanding balance now stands at approximately Rs 1.44 crore.
The loans were sanctioned in the names of these individuals, but the funds were transferred to various other benami (proxy) accounts. Furthermore, Jils exploited the same property document by inflating its value to obtain multiple loans. Remarkably, the bank had not taken any action to recover the amounts until the case was registered,” said an ED official.
Apart from this, Jils acquired six loans totalling Rs 2.75 crore by pledging his father’s property. However, five out of these six loans were taken in the names of different individuals, including Shanim Shahul, Thankamma, Ibrahim, Kumaran C M, and Shameer. Kumaran is Jils’ father, and Rs 25 lakh was taken in the name of his wife, Sreelatha T S.
None of the amounts from these six loans have been repaid, and the total outstanding amount from these loans is Rs 3.62 crore. In total, the outstanding amount from all nine loans stands at Rs 5.06 crore. In a report filed by the ED at the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Kochi, it is highlighted that Jils held three C-class memberships of the bank simultaneously.
During the course of the interrogation, Jils claimed to have forgotten the details of property purchases but disclosed ownership of only a few properties to the ED.
However, the probe revealed that between 2011 and 2019, Jils had sold six land properties in the name of his wife, Sreelatha.
Furthermore, the ED investigation found that Jils was responsible for managing the supermarket owned by the Karuvanur Service Cooperative Bank until October 2019. A bank inspection conducted on March 31, 2019, by new bank employees revealed a stock deficit valued at Rs 1.53 crore at the supermarket.
ED response sought on bank customer's plea seeking return of deed
The High Court on Saturday sought the response of the ED and the Karuvannur bank on a petition filed by a borrower challenging non-issuance of title deeds and documents even after he closed the entire liability. The bank stated that entire documents are in the custody of ED as part of the money laundering probe. The petitioner availed two loans mortgaging 50 cents of property and repaid the amount on December 27, 2022.
Jils secured nine loans totalling Rs 4.25 crore
According to ED officials, Jils managed to secure nine loans totalling Rs 4.25 crore by pledging just two properties. In one instance, Jils obtained a loan of Rs 1.5 crore in the names of three individuals—Paulson, Babu, and Sreedeep—by pledging his property. Out of this, Rs 1.02 crore remains unpaid, and the outstanding balance now stands at approximately Rs 1.44 crore