Karuvannur co-op bank scam: ED arrests CPM Leader, former accountant of bank
Thiruvananthapuram: The Enforcement Directorate has arrested P.R. Aravindakshan, a councillor and CPM leader, for his involvement in the Karuvannur cooperative bank fraud case.
The accused was taken into custody from his house in Wadakkancherry by ED sleuths on Tuesday morning. He is known to be a close associate of the prime accused, Satheesh Kumar, and was reportedly a middleman in fraudulent transactions.
Several persons have been questioned in connection with the case, including M K Kannan, the president of the Thrissur Co-operative Bank and a CPM leader. The investigation has revealed that the accused had also made transactions related to the Thrissur Co-operative Bank, thus implicating other co-operative banks in Ayyanthol and Thrissur.
The ED action is part of the Central government's conspiracy to destroy the state's cooperative sector, alleged CPM state secretary M V Govindan. He claimed that Aravindakshan was arrested because he had complained against the assault at the ED office during interrogation. "CPM is not ready to succumb to Centre's pressure. We will fight back," he said.
However, the ED refuted the allegations of assault made by Aravindakshan.
The case involves siphoning off crores of rupees from the CPM-controlled Karuvannur Cooperative Bank through benami transactions. The scam involving CPM workers surfaced in 2021, leaving hundreds of depositors in a lurch as they could not withdraw money following the scam. The cases have been registered under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
The ED on Tuesday also arrested Jills, a former accountant of the Karuvannur bank in connection with the fraud. Earlier he was questioned by ED sleuths.
Aravindakshan’s arrest has evoked a sharp reaction from the local unit of the party in Wadakancherry. Party workers protested against the arrest which the CPM dubbed as a political vendetta.
The ED believes that the irregularities in Karuvannur Bank are linked to other cooperative banks, and the investigation in connection with the case will continue in the coming days.
