Sources said the ED has named a total of 28 entities and individuals in its first supplementary chargesheet filed in this case and those arraigned include the CPI (M) Thrissur district unit, its MP K Radhakrishnan, party MLA AC Moideen and others.
The CPI(M) has been named through its party secretary of Thrissur district committee, as per the sources.
The sources had earlier said that the party was named but later made it clear that it was only the Thrissur district unit that has been arraigned.
The court is yet to take cognisance of the chargesheet.
The cooperative bank was run by party leaders.
The Left party had earlier rejected the allegations levelled by the central probe agency, saying it would fight them legally and politically.
The prosecution complaint was filed on Monday before a special PMLA court located in Kochi.
The chargesheet has been filed under various sections of the anti-money laundering law including Section 70 (offences committed by companies and vicarious liability of its promoters), they said.
With this chargesheet, the total number of accused in this case has come to around 83, the sources said.
There were 55 accused in the first chargesheet filed in 2023. The money laundering probe stems from at least 16 FIRs registered by the Kerala Police crime branch at Thrissur in July 2021 on charges of alleged funds irregularities in the CPI(M) controlled bank worth Rs 150 crore.
The agency has claimed that the total proceeds of crime in this case are worth about Rs 300 crore, the sources said.
The agency had earlier claimed its probe found that “bogus” loans were sanctioned by the cooperative bank on the “same property multiple times” without the knowledge of the members of the society.
Benami loans were sanctioned to non-members against “inflated” property valuations in the names of other members and such loan funds were “siphoned off” and “laundered” by the accused beneficiaries, the ED had earlier said.
The agency had conducted raids in this case in August-September 2023 and arrested four persons apart from attaching assets worth Rs 128 crore.
The ED had also claimed in a press statement issued in January that benami loans were disbursed by the bank on the “instructions” of the CPI(M) district committee members and the political party, in turn, received “donations” in its coffers from such beneficiaries.
In June 2024, the agency attached a land parcel and bank deposits worth a total of Rs 73 lakh allegedly belonging to the CPI(M) in the state.
Officials had then said that this land in Thrissur attached by it was meant for the CPI(M) party office and was purchased from the alleged kickbacks obtained from the loanees or beneficiaries of the loans dished out by the cooperative bank.
The agency has relied upon the “confessional” statements of at least two accused in this case who recorded their statements before a Judicial Magistrate that the purported irregularities in the bank were orchestrated at the behest of CPI(M) Thrissur district committee leaders. PTI NES RT RT
