P.K. Biju, former Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] MP from Alathur, appeared before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) probing the Karuvannur Service Cooperative Bank money-laundering case here on April 4 (Thursday).
A member of the State secretariat of the CPI(M), Mr. Biju is the third prominent leader of the CPI(M), after former Minister A.C. Moideen and State committee member M.K. Kannan, to be questioned in the multi-crore loan scam.
Mr. Biju, who appeared for questioning at the Kochi office of the agency, said it was for the first time that he had received a notice from the ED in connection with the case. He said the agency has not asked him to submit the report prepared by a committee constituted by the CPI(M) to probe the irregularities in the party-controlled bank. He was a member of the party committee.
The agency had told the Special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court here in September 2023 that Satheesh Kumar P., who was arrested in connection with the multi-crore scam, was a benami of a former MP, a sitting MLA and high-ranking police officers. The ED had contended that Mr. Kumar, a Thrissur-based financier, had links with Mr. Biju.
However, Mr. Biju had rejected the allegations, while pointing out that he had no links with any of the accused in the scam. He also said he had never contacted the accused through phone or WhatsApp.
The ED’s preliminary estimate was that around ₹350 crore was siphoned off from the bank through benami loans. A large number of depositors had lost their money as the bank had run into trouble.
