The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has stated that the parliamentary committee of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) in Thrissur has maintained separate minutes for the loans sanctioned from the Karuvannur Cooperative Bank.
The agency, which is probing the multi-crore scam at the bank, quoted the statements of Biju M.K., former manager of the bank, and Sunil Kumar, former secretary, saying that the policy matters and sanctioning of loans were controlled by the political subcommittee and the party parliamentary committee.
Leaders’ directives
It was also revealed that illegal loans were sanctioned to various people on the directives of high-profile leaders of the CPI(M). These allegations have found mention in the provisional order issued by the Kochi office of the agency attaching assets worth ₹57.75 crore belonging to a few individuals in connection with the fraud case.
The illegal loans were taken by the accused in cash in connivance with the officials and board members of the bank. Since the proceeds of crime had been generated in cash and the placement done with the cash so received, a direct money trail for layering of the proceeds of crime in this case was not possible, it said.
Sanctioning of loans
The ED said that the maximum amount of loan that can be sanctioned as per the bylaws governing the bank was ₹50 lakh. The investigations revealed that the loans were sanctioned in the name of different persons including family members and friends of the accused to secure loans more than ₹50 lakh. All such loans were sanctioned by mortgaging a single property. It was also revealed that loans were sanctioned under fake names.
