The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has moved the Supreme Court challenging the grant of bail to Bineesh Kodiyeri, son of Kerala CPI(M) State Secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, in a narcotics–related money laundering case.
The ED said the details of the case lead to a deep–rooted organised drug trafficking network in Bengaluru city which involves highly influential Indian and foreign nationals and high–profile individuals.
The Karnataka High Court in October 2021 allowed Bineesh bail despite the Sessions Court refusing to let him on the ground that the case involved a “serious economic offence” and the “accused is the son of a politician” and is “high–profile”.
In its appeal before the Supreme Court, the ED argued that “economic offences constitute a class apart and need to be visited with a different approach in the matter of bail”.
“Economic offences having deep–rooted conspiracies and involving huge loss of public funds, need to be viewed seriously and considered a grave offence affecting the economy of the country as a whole and thereby posing serious threat to the financial health,” the ED submitted in a petition and annexures running over several hundreds of pages.
The ED said its investigation into the case came up with “voluminous documents” unravelling “shady transactions in which huge amounts were deposited, transferred and withdrawn”. There was no proper explanation for any of these transactions. The ED said there was evidence showing links between the main accused in the case, a drug peddler, and Bineesh.
The agency said its probe showed close links between Bineesh and the peddler and revealed that “all his financial dealings were done on the instruction of the Respondent”. The ED said it had unearthed hundreds of telephone calls and messages between the duo.
“Investigations also revealed the Respondent [Bineesh] had come to Bengaluru from March to May 2020 and stayed in Royal Suit Apartment run by the accused/Mohammed Anoop for more than two months. Now, the Narcotics Control Bureau has seized the contraband from the same premise belonging to the accused/Md. Anoop. This would further establish the involvement of the Respondent herein in the entire case,” the special leave petition in the apex court said.
The ED said Bineesh had not given any satisfactory reply about the source of huge cash deposits in his accounts. The deposits were not commensurate with his income tax returns.
