Private moneylender P. Satheesh Kumar, also an accused in the Karuvannur Service Cooperative Bank fraud case, was the benami of several prominent political leaders and police officers, according to the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
M.J. Satheesh, the standing counsel for the agency, read out the statements of K.A. Jijor, a witness in the case, to this effect in the court on Monday while opposing the bail plea of Mr. Satheesh Kumar.
The agency submitted that a former senior police officer had negotiated some financial disputes involving Mr. Satheesh Kumar and collected commission for settling them.
The ED stated before the court that the accused was an influential person with high political connections and if released, he might tamper with evidence and influence witnesses.
However, the defence lawyers contended that the agency did not possess any evidence against the political leaders and was raising baseless allegations.
The court will consider the case on November 27.