The Kerala High Court on Monday adjourned to April 3 hearing on a petition filed by the Crime Branch (CB) challenging the order of Ernakulam Special Court for PMLA cases dismissing its plea seeking files seized by Directorate of Enforcement (ED) in connection with Karuvannur Service Cooperative Bank fraud cases.
The Crime Branch pointed out that a case had been registered by the Irinjalakuda police on the basis of a complaint from the bank secretary regarding misappropriation of huge amounts of the bank. The crime was being investigated by the Crime Branch. As many as 18 cases were registered based on complaints that fraudulent loans were granted by the bank. In the Crime Branch investigation, it was revealed that the board of directors of the bank had deliberately abused their official position and committed grave financial fraud and misappropriation of deposits. The offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act were also added later.
Meanwhile, the ED registered a crime under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002. It conducted a raid on the bank in 2022 and seized electronic data and other crucial documents. Though the Crime Branch sought copies of the seized documents, the ED said that only the party from whom the materials were seized was entitled to get a copy of the seized materials/records.
The loan files were very essential to substantiate the charges of forgery and other offences alleged against the accused director and board members. However, the special court dismissed their application seeking a directive to the ED to hand over the seized documents. The court had dismissed the plea erroneously without understanding the issues involved in the case, it submitted.
The Crime Branch sought quashing of the Special Court’s order and a directive to the ED to hand over the custody of original documents.
