Bank scam: Former Kerala Minister A.C. Moideen appears before ED

The CPI (M ) State committee member and former State Minister A. C. Moideen appeared before the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) officials at Kochi on Monday in connection with the Karuvannur cooperative bank scam. He had skipped the two summonses issued by the agency earlier to question him. The investigation agency had earlier stated that many illegal loans were issued by the bank on instructions from Mr. Moideen.

The CPI (M ) State committee member and former State Minister A. C. Moideen appeared before the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) officials at Kochi on Monday.

Mr. Moideen had skipped the two summonses issued by the agency earlier to question him in connection with the Karuvannur cooperative bank scam.

The investigation agency had earlier stated that many illegal loans were issued by the bank on instructions from Mr. Moideen. The ED suspects that P. Satheesh Kumar, one of the accused in the case and an alleged illegal money lender, was the benami of Mr. Moideen. The preliminary estimate of the agency is that around ₹350 crore was siphoned off from the bank. A large number of depositors had lost their money as the bank had run into trouble.

The agency may question a former Member of Parliament of the CPI (M) following the statements of some of the accused in the case.

The ED had earlier quizzed a few civic representatives of the party.

The political circles are closely watching the developments in the ED investigation as the outcome will leave a huge impact on State politics.

The Opposition parties, especially the Congress, have already sharpened their criticism against the CPI (M) over the alleged involvement of the party leaders and the alleged attempts to brush the financial fraud under the carpet.