ED freezes Rs 28 lakh deposits of Kerala CPI(M) MLA Moideen, wife

The ED on Wednesday said it has frozen bank and fixed deposits worth Rs 28 lakh of Kerala CPI(M) MLA A C Moideen and his wife, a day after conducting searches against him and others in a money laundering case.

The case is linked to the alleged Rs 150 crore fraud in the party-controlled Karuvannur cooperative bank.

The searches, launched at five locations across Kerala on Tuesday, have also led to the "seizure of 36 properties valued at Rs 15 crore, being proceeds of crime", it said in a statement.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) said the raids were conducted to probe "benamis and beneficiaries who siphoned off bank funds of more than Rs 150 crore from Karuvannur Service Cooperative Bank Ltd".

Two orders were issued for freezing bank deposits and fixed deposits worth Rs 28 lakh found to be in the "possession of" A C Moideen and his wife, the ED said.

It said the probe has found that "on the instructions of certain persons, who were district-level leaders and committee members of certain political party and governed the bank, loans were disbursed by the bank manager through the agent in cash to non-member benamis by mortgaging properties of poor members without their knowledge and laundered to the benefit of the accused".

"Many such benami loans were disbursed on the instructions of A C Moideen," the federal probe agency alleged.

The searches were also conducted at the premises of people identified as Kiran P P, Rahim C M, Shiju M K and Satheeshkumar P, the ED said.

Moideen (67) addressed the press after the raids concluded early Wednesday morning and said the action was "pre-planned," adding he would cooperate with any investigation.

The former Kerala minister for cooperation and industries currently represents the Kunnamkulam constituency in the state Assembly.

This case of alleged fraud, beginning in 2010, in the Thrissur-based CPI(M)-controlled bank triggered a political row in Kerala two years ago. The money laundering case stems from 16 FIRs registered by the Kerala Police (crime branch) in Thrissur.

The ED had carried out similar raids in August last year at six locations, including a branch of the bank located in Irinjalakuda, Thrissur. It had attached assets worth Rs 30.70 crore of a commission agent of the bank, Bijoy A K.

After the FIR by Kerala Police was registered in July 2021, the registrar in their audit found "diversions" of more than Rs 100 crore, the ED had said last year.