The government has ordered attachment of assets in the Fashion Gold investment scam in which former Kasaragod MLA M.C. Kamaruddin and managing director Pookoya Thangal are allegedly involved.
Fashion Gold International, which began its operations in 2006, went bust in October 2019 following which several investors lodged complaints against Mr. Kamaruddin and Thangal.
Finance Secretary Sanjay M. Kaul issued the order for attachment of property on August 7, 2023, under the Banning of Unregulated Deposit Schemes Act.
Action was taken on the basis of a report of Crime Branch Superintendent of Police P.P. Sadanand against the two who were slapped with charges of cheating, misappropriation of funds, and raising money from the public under an unregulated deposit scheme (Section 3 of the Banning of Unregulated Deposit Schemes Act) and Section 5 of the Kerala Protection of Interests of Depositors in Financial Establishment Act 2013.
According to the order, the houses, land, and buildings of both the accused in Payyannur town, Hozdurg taluk, Udinoor village (Kasaragod), and Bengaluru will be confiscated.
Besides, the SBI bank accounts at Kayyur and Thrikaripur, HDFC bank accounts at Payyannur, Union Bank accounts, and Canara Bank accounts at Kalikadu in their names have been frozen.
The Collectors of Kannur and Kasaragod have been directed to submit reports to court confirming the confiscation order.
The first company was registered in 2006 with the name ‘Fashion Gold International’ at Maniyat. Later, other companies were started in 2007, 2008, 2012, and 2016. Although the companies were registered with the same address, none other than Fashion Gold International was at Maniyat.
The investigation team found that the properties had been illegally transferred to several persons soon after investors began lodging complaints.
It is learnt that deposits were accepted from over 700 persons in the name of four jewellery firms. However, 168 lodged complaints, and an estimated ₹26.15 crore is due to them.
