Enforcement Directorate starts probe into land-sale row involving Cardinal George Alencherry

The Enforcement Directorate is probing whether money-laundering was involved in the case related to the efforts by the archdiocese to settle a loan of around 60 crore by selling three acres under its possession in Kochi.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has started its probe into the land-sale row involving Cardinal George Alencherry, Major Archbishop of the Syro-Malabar Church and head of the Ernakulam-Angamaly Archdiocese, in connection with a series of land deals that reportedly resulted in financial loss for the archdiocese.

The ED is probing whether money-laundering was involved in the case related to the efforts by the archdiocese to settle a loan of around 60 crore by selling three acres under its possession in Kochi. The Kerala High Court had dismissed the petition filed by George Alencherry to quash the cases related to the land deal registered by the Kochi City Police.

The archdiocese did not receive the entire money it was to have received as proceeds from the sale even a year-and-a-half after the transactions. Out of a total of 27 crore it was to receive, the archdiocese had got only 9 crore so far.