The Cooperative Department that is probing the suspected loan fraud at Mylapra Service Cooperative Bank in Pathanamthitta has attached properties owned by the accused, including that of the former bank president and secretary.
Confirming the development, officials said as many as 10 properties worth ₹18.88 crore had been conditionally attached. These properties also included those owned by former bank president Jerry Oommen Easo and his family as well as former bank secretary Joshua Mathew and family.
“The conditional attachment of these properties, most of which lie outside the operational area of the bank, makes these assets untransferable. In due course, we may initiate action to auction off these properties,” said M.P. Hiran, District Joint Registrar, Pathanamthitta.
Official sources said the move followed attempts by the accused to transfer the ownership of these properties. An internal investigation into the scam suggested that the accused had embezzled huge amounts through loans to relatives. Several of these loans had been issued against the security of a single property, and many loans amounted to ten times the actual value of the security. The alleged misappropriation occurred in the 2005-2021 period.
A report of the investigation held under Rule 65 of the Kerala Cooperative Societies Act suggested that Mr. Mathew alone siphoned off ₹18.83 crore by passing 28 loans. Based on a complaint by the department, a Crime Branch unit launched a probe into a complaint that the bank had incurred losses amounting to ₹83 crore.
Mr. Mathew had been associated with various factions of the Kerala Congress before joining the Congress, which expelled him following the scam. Mr. Easo and his family too had taken loans worth over ₹2 crore from the bank. Mr. Easo was associated with various Kerala Congress factions before joining the Communist Party of India (Marxist), which expelled him once the scam came to light.
