Despite declaring negative income for five consecutive years between 2015 and 2020, former Nilambur MLA and Trinamool Congress leader P V Anvar reported a massive spike in his assets, from ₹14.38 crore in 2016 to ₹64.14 crore in 2021, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has said. The agency raised doubts over the unexplained increase while conducting searches at his residence and office premises on Friday as part of the Kerala Financial Corporation (KFC) loan fraud probe.

According to the ED, Anvar admitted during questioning that he is the real beneficial owner of M/s Malamkulam Constructions, although the company is registered in the names of his nephews and driver. He also confirmed that the loans sanctioned in 2015 were used for the ‘Pee Vee Aar Metro Village’ township project in Manjeri.

Statements recorded from his associates indicated that documents were routinely signed on Anvar’s instructions, funds were diverted to linked entities and certain cash transactions were kept off official accounts. The ED further found that several buildings were constructed at the PVR Metro Village site by Malamkulam Constructions without mandatory approvals, and that suspected proceeds of crime had been infused into the project.

Meanwhile, the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) has already registered a case over the alleged loan fraud and listed Anvar as the fourth accused. The ED said further investigation is underway to trace the money trail and identify the proceeds of crime.

The case
According to findings of the Vigilance and the ED, KFC Malappuram sanctioned a ₹7.5 crore loan to Anvar’s driver, Siyad, for business purposes in 2015 without properly assessing the collateral. Repayments stopped within months. Later, additional loans of ₹3.05 crore and ₹1.56 crore were sanctioned to Anvar’s firm, PVR Developers, against the same collateral, officials said.

KFC incurred a total loss of ₹22.30 crore due to the alleged loan misappropriation. Last month, the ED recorded the statement of Murugesh Narendran, the complainant in the VACB case.