KOCHI: Industries Minister P Rajeev has come under the scanner of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the Karuvannur Service Cooperative bank fraud case, in what could trigger an upheaval in state politics.
In an affidavit filed before the Kerala High Court on Monday, ED said that Rajeev, when he was the CPM Ernakulam district secretary, put pressure on the the bank to grant loans illegally. The ED’s submission was based on a statement made by Sunil Kumar T R, former secretary of the bank and the prime accused in the case. There are also references to CPM leaders A C Moideen and Paloli Mohammed Kutty in ED’s affidavit.
Rajeeve served as CPM’s Ernakulam district secretary from 2015 to 2018. This is the first time that the name of a minister in the CPM-led LDF government is figuring in the Karuvannur scam.
According to the ED affidavit, Sunil Kumar deposed before the agency that “... loans were granted under the pressure of ... A C Moideen, former Minister and the then Thrissur CPM district secretary, CPM leader Paloli Muhammed Kutty and P Rajeeve, the then Ernakulam CPM district secretary.” He also stated that loans were granted violating the bye-laws.
There were separate minutes books in respect of the meeting containing directions to the governing body for granting illegal loans, which were handed over by Sunil Kumar to the office secretary of the Thrissur CPM district committee, the affidavit said.
S G Kavitkar, assistant director, ED, Kochi, filed the counter affidavit in response to the petition filed by Alisabri, an accused in the case, and others challenging the provisional attachment order of the ED and to de-freeze the bank accounts.
The ED stated that though computerised accounting existed since 1998, there are lots of limitations in software security. There was no transparency in maintaining the accounts of establishments owned and managed by the society (Karuvannur cooperative bank started as an agriculture society). The internal checking system of the supermarkets, and Neethi medical stores was not effectively carried on, it said.
ED further said that crores of rupees were disbursed as loans on the mortgage of land having no valuation. Some of the loans were issued without a property valuation report and approval of the director board.
Multiple loans were sanctioned on the mortgage of a single property. Alisabri, the petitioner, had availed such an illegal loan by pledging his wife’s property, the agency said in the affidavit.