Karuvannur bank scam: ED to quiz Moideen again

AC Moideen
ED raided his house and premises in connection with a money laundering probe into the alleged Rs 100-crore fraud in the Karuvannur Cooperative Bank. Photo: Manorama

Kochi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) will again summon former minister and CPM's Kerala state committee member A C Moideen as part of the probe into the multi-crore Karuvannur Cooperative Bank scam, saying the documents produced by him are incomplete.

The probe team will quiz Moideen again after a detailed examination of the statements and documents produced on Monday.

The ED also confirmed that Moideen had written a letter seeking a review of the freezing of his and his wife's bank deposits totalling Rs 28 lakh. 

Moideen handed over the documents of the wages received as a state minister and MLA and the salary details of his wife, who is a government employee.

The investigating team raised questions about Moideen's relationship with P Satheesh Kumar, the first accused in the money laundering case linked to the Karuvannur Bank. 

As per the statements of the accused Moideen had recommended the sanctioning of benami loans in the name of the members of the bank without their knowledge. Most of the questions from the ED were in this regard. 

Moideen's first appearance

Though Moideen was served two notices in the past, he did not appear, citing personal inconvenience. Moideen was then asked to appear at 11 am on Monday, but he arrived at 9.15 am itself. The interrogation, which began at 11 am, continued till 8.30 pm. After completing the first round of questioning, Moideen responded that he had not done anything wrong. He said he would cooperate with the investigation by handing over all the requested documents.

On August 22, the ED carried out a 22-hour-long raid at the residence of Moideen. They claimed that the investigations revealed the disbursal of a majority of the benami loans, worth Rs 150 crore in total, on the instructions of the CPM leader. The agency also froze bank deposits worth Rs 28 lakh of Moideen and his wife, besides seizing 36 properties valued at Rs 15 crore. 

Others in ED crosshairs

K A Jijor, the middleman of the first accused Satheesh Kumar, chartered accountant Sanal Kumar, civic body members Anoop David Kada and P R Aravindakshan, and his associate Rajesh were also questioned along with Moideen on Monday. 

Though Aravindakshan had informed that he would not be able to reach for questioning due to the betrothal of a close relative, he appeared in the afternoon. 

Aravindakshan was allowed to go early after completing the interrogation. He has to be present before the agency again today.

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