KOCHI: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) filed its first prosecution complaint (chargesheet) in the Karuvannur Service Cooperative Bank money laundering case on Wednesday. The prosecution complaint, which spans 13,000 pages, was transported to the PMLA court in Kochi in six steel boxes using a mini goods carrier vehicle around 4.30 pm.
Bijoy A K, who embezzled approximately Rs 25 crore from the bank, is the primary accused in the case. Satheeshkumar P, the 14th accused, was the first individual apprehended by the ED. CPM leader and Wadakkancherry Municipality counsellor P R Aravindakshan is designated as the 15th accused in the prosecution complaint. Jilse C K, the bank’s former accountant, holds the 16th position in the list, whereas Kiran P P, a businessman, is positioned 9th.
“There are a total of 55 accused listed in the prosecution complaint. Among them, some are implicated in cases registered by the Kerala Police and the Crime Branch. Additionally, five companies named as accused entities are owned by three individuals involved in the case,”said an ED official.
ED Assistant Director and investigation officer of the case, S G Kavitkar, stated that the first stage of the investigation has been completed. “This is only the initial phase of the investigation. We will continue with further investigations. The charge sheet includes all statements and evidence collected during the probe,” he added.
Considering the 60-day investigation period following the arrest of the prime accused Satheeshkumar P and Kiran P P, which was set to conclude on November 3, the ED filed the prosecution complaint.
Failure to file the prosecution complaint would have made the duo eligible for statutory bail. Jilse C K and Aravindakshan are the other two individuals arrested by the ED in connection with the case.
In the preceding month, the ED provisionally attached assets worth Rs 57.75 crore belonging to 39 individuals involved in the Karuvannur Bank money-laundering case. The investigation conducted by the ED revealed that 90 loan recipients of Karuvannur Service Cooperative Bank defaulted on `343 crore. The case pertains to fraudulent practices where loans were obtained in the name of non-members of the bank by mortgaging properties with existing loans. The Crime Branch is also investigating the cheating aspect of the loan scam.