The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday filed the second chargesheet in the Karuvannur service Cooperative Bank fraud case, naming the CPI-M and several of its senior leaders, including K Radhakrishnan MP and former minister AC Moideen as accused.

Investigation officer Nirmal Kumar Mosha submitted the chargesheet before the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) Court in Kochi ,including 28 people as newly accused. Among them are former CPI-M Thrissur district secretaries AC Moideen, MM Varghese and K Radhakrishnan.MP. With this, the total number of accused in the case has grown to 83.

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K Radhakrishnan has been arraigned as the 70th accused in the case, while the CPI-M has been listed as the 68th accused. Other accused CPI-M leaders include Wadakkanchery Municipal councillor Madhu Ambalapuram (64th), Porathussery North Local Committee Secretary A R Peethambaran (71st), Porathussery South Local Committee Secretary M Raju (72nd), and Irinjalakuda Area Committee Secretary K C Premarajan.

The ED said the accused had amassed Rs.180 crore through fraudulent loans.Out of this, the anti-money laundering agency has attached properties worth Rs 128 crore.

According to the chargesheet, the CPI-M is accused of interfering in the cooperative bank’s operations and assisting the accused in fraudulently obtaining loans. The chargesheet also says that the party knowingly shared the money fraudulently obtained by the accused, possessed the money with the intention of using it in the future, and subsequently used the funds to purchase assets

“The party has committed crimes such as interfering in the functioning of the Karuvannur Bank, assisting the accused in fraudulently obtaining loans, and thereby cheating the bank, knowingly sharing the money acquired through fraud, possessing that money with the intention of using it in the future while misrepresenting it as untainted, and using that money to purchase assets,” the charge sheet says.

As regards the involvement of K Radhakrishnan MP in the case, the ED states that during his tenure as CPI-M Thrissur District Secretary from 2016 to 2018, the District Committee under his leadership knowingly facilitated the accused in obtaining the proceeds of crime. A portion of these funds was allegedly used by the party to raise funds and purchase property for a party office.

The chargesheet has highlighted the role of former minister A C Moideen during his tenure as District Secretary from 2011 to 2016. The charge sheet notes that he too knowingly assisted the accused in securing fraudulent loans from the bank.

Some leaders of the CPI-M whose names cropped up during the ED’s investigation but were not named in the charge sheet include Industries Minister P Rajeev, Kerala Bank vice-president MK Kannan, former minister Paloli Mohammed Kutty and former MP PK Biju.

The case is that the Karuvannur service cooperative bank, controlled by the CPI-M. It had issued loans through fraudulent means and thus caused huge financial loss to itself and the depositors. It was also alleged that the loans were issued in violation of the rules and regulations and without proper collateral security. This scam involves illegal handling and misuse of more than Rs 300 crore. The money was taken from customer accounts using fake documents and benami loans.