The Congress-led UDF Opposition, on Sunday, 24 September, alleged that the ruling CPI(M) in Kerala and the state government are trying to protect those behind the Karuvannur bank scam case as they are scared that many “big trees” in the Left party might be “uprooted”.
The accusation by Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly VD Satheesan comes a day after Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan lashed out at the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and termed the agency’s probe into the scam a part of a political agenda set by the BJP.
Vijayan also alleged that the BJP is attempting to destroy the cooperative sector in the state.
Related: ED attaches ₹30 crore assets in cooperative bank fraud case
‘Biggest scan in history of the state’
Satheesan, in a statement, alleged that the Karuvannur Cooperative Bank scam is the biggest in the history of the state and alleged that it was carried out with the knowledge of the top leadership of the CPI(M).
He further alleged that the Left party is destroying the credibility of the cooperative banking sector in the state by protecting those involved in the scam.
Demanding a thorough probe into the scam, he said that if the state government tries to protect the guilty and betrayed investors, the UDF will intensify its protest.
He also asked Vijayan and CPI(M) state secretary MV Govindan to clarify whether Speaker AN Shamseer’s opinion that Karuvannur was a black spot on the face of the cooperative banking sector is shared by the CPI(M) and the LDF government.
Also read: Woes pile up for ruling CPI(M) in Kerala cooperative sector scams
‘Government standing with the culprits’
Satheesan said that recently Local Self Government Minister MB Rajesh had asked whether the scam was a big incident. He said the minister’s comments are a slap on the face of the investors who lost their entire life’s savings.
The LoP said that it also underlines that the government is allegedly standing with the culprits, and not the investors who lost their money.
On 11 September, CPI(M) leader and MLA AC Moideen was interrogated for over nine hours by the ED in connection with its probe into the ₹150 crore Karuvannur Cooperative bank scam, which has triggered a political row in Kerala.
Also read: Kerala CPI(M) MLA Moideen quizzed by ED for 9 hours
Karuvannur bank scam
The case relates to the alleged fraud in the CPI(M)-controlled Karuvannur Cooperative Bank.
The ED has been questioning those involved in the case since it conducted raids at their premises last month.
The central agency had earlier issued freeze orders against the bank accounts and fixed deposits worth ₹28 lakh of Moideen, the former Kerala Minister for Cooperation and Industries, and his wife, apart from seizing 36 properties valued at ₹15 crore — the “proceeds of crime” in this case.
After the Kerala Police registered the FIR in July 2021, the registrar in their audit found that more than ₹100 crore had been “diverted”.
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