Thiruvananthapuram: Amid the opposition's allegations of a BJP-CPM secret pact to settle cases probed by central agencies, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan raised a sharp criticism against the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) over the Karuvannur Cooperative bank scam.
He alleged ED protected the key accused in the scam and turned him into an approver in the case. The CM made the remark while delivering his inaugural speech at the 9th Kerala Cooperative Congress here on Sunday.
“ED turned the prime accused into an "approver" to obtain material from him for political gains. What was the purpose behind protecting a person who engaged in destroying the institution? Culprits should face trial. But, the probe agency tried to protect the culprit. Such acts should be avoided,” he said.
The chief minister's comments come less than a week after the ED told the Kerala High Court that irregularities in the multi-crore scam that hit Karuvannur Cooperative Bank were committed at the behest of the party leaders of the ruling CPM in the state.
The ED had told the court that during its investigation "it was found that many of the accused are office-bearers and members of the ruling political party CPM and there was a deep-rooted conspiracy to embezzle money from the public and make gains for the party as well as its leaders."
It also blamed the Registrar of Cooperative Societies in the state for "turning a blind eye" to the irregularities of various cooperative societies in Kerala.
This case of alleged fraud, beginning in 2010, at the Thrissur-based Karuvannur Cooperative Bank triggered a political row in Kerala two years ago. The money laundering case stems from 16 FIRs registered by the Kerala Police (Crime Branch) in Thrissur. After the Kerala police registered the FIR in July 2021, the registrar in their audit found "diversions" of more than Rs 100 crore, the ED had said in 2022.
Talking about the alleged irregularities and frauds in cooperative banks, Pinarayi said such corrupt acts were isolated and committed by greedy individuals.
“A bad mark on one establishment in the cooperative sector may erode people's confidence in the entire sector and therefore, it is necessary to ensure that we do not lose the trust.
"When the government is clear that those who engage in corrupt practices do not go unpunished, it also needs to safeguard the cooperative sector enterprises and ensure public's trust in them is not eroded. For that, requisite steps are being taken as and when necessary," he pointed out.
He further added that while the isolated incidents of irregularities and corrupt practices were inevitable as the cooperative sector grew rapidly in the state, it also resulted in some becoming envious of the unprecedented growth.
(With PTI inputs)
