ED arrests ex-President of Kandala Service Co-operative Bank N Bhasurangan, his son in money laundering case
Nov 24, 2023
New Delhi [India], November 24 : The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrested the former president of Kandala Service Co-operative Bank N Bhasurangan and his son Akhiljith JB in connection with an ongoing investigation into a money laundering case of fraud that occurred at Kandala Service Co-operative Bank, the agency said on Friday.
Both Bhasurangan and his son were arrested on November 21 under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) of 2002.
As per the ED, Bhasurangan happened to be the overall in-charge of the bank as president and played a key role in sanctioning various unauthorised loans.
The ED initiated an investigation on the basis of various First Information Reports (FIRs) registered by the Maranalloor Police Station, Trivandrum, against the President and Secretary of Kandala Service Co-operative Bank.
"Several irregularities in the management of the bank were noticed," said the ED, citing its investigation, adding "the bank's governing body was headed by its President Bhasurangan."
Preliminary investigations revealed that Rs 57 crore was involved in the irregularities and the bank suffered massive asset impairment due to this.
Further, during ED investigation, it was revealed that Kandala Service Cooperative Bank had given a loan of Rs 2.04 crore to Maranalloor Ksheera Vyavsaya Sangam Limited, as Bhasurangan was also managing the affairs of that society.
"It was further found that multiple loans running into several crores were fraudulently given to his family members and relatives by mortgaging the same properties. It was also found that Kandala Service Co-operative bank had not initiated any recovery proceedings in respect of the overdue loans availed by the family members and relatives of Bhasurangan, while he was holding the post of President," said the ED.
