Kochi: In a setback to Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president K Sudhakaran, the crime branch on Tuesday filed a charge-sheet against him implicating him in the fraud case in which fake antique dealer Monson Mavunkal is the key accused.
In the charge-sheet, submitted before the Ernakulam Additional Sessions Court here, the probe team accused Sudhakaran of receiving Rs 10 lakh from Mavunkal and slapped charges including conspiracy against him in the case.
The probe team charge-sheeted the Congress leader after recording the statements of the complainants who lost their money in the 2021 case. They claimed that they had handed over money to Mavunkal in the presence of Sudhakaran. After summoning Sudhakaran for an interrogation, the Crime Branch arrested him on June 23, 2023. He was later released on bail as per the High Court's order. Enforcement Directorate also interrogated Sudhakaran in the money laundering case against Mavunkal.
Cherthala native Mavunkal, who claimed he possessed rare and historic antiques, was arrested by the Crime Branch in September 2021. He is facing charges of having swindled Rs 10 crore from several people.
Congress landed in a controversy after images of Mavunkal, along with Sudhakaran, emerged in 2021. The KPCC president had said he had gone to Mavunkal's residence for treatment, as the latter claimed to be a trained cosmetologist. Mavunkal had allegedly made false representations about himself and his business to various people and collected money from them. Many images of Mavunkal with senior police officers and bureaucrats of the state have surfaced.
