Kochi, July 4 (IANS) Top CPI-M leaders accused in the Karuvannur Cooperative Bank money laundering case appeared before the Special Court under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) at Kaloor, Kochi, and secured bail on Saturday.
Among those who appeared before the court and filed bail applications were former minister and MLA A.C. Moideen, MP K. Radhakrishnan, former CPI-M Thrissur district secretary M.M. Varghese, along with five other accused.
The court had earlier issued summonses directing them to appear in person.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arraigned the Communist Party of India (Marxist) itself as the 68th accused in the case. However, no one appeared before the court on behalf of the party.
Following this, the Special PMLA Court directed the Thrissur district secretary to appear as the party’s representative on July 21. The court also ordered 19 other accused who failed to appear today to be present on the same day.
The court had earlier observed that there was prima facie evidence against the accused and ruled that all of them should face trial.
The ED has named a total of 83 accused in two prosecution complaints (charge sheets) filed in the case. Among them, A.C. Moideen is the 67th accused, the CPI-M is the 68th accused, M.M. Varghese is the 69th accused, and K. Radhakrishnan is the 70th accused.
According to the ED, the accused laundered around Rs 180 crore through fake benami loans and other financial irregularities at the Karuvannur Cooperative Bank. The central agency had earlier attached assets worth Rs 128.82 crore, including properties allegedly linked to the CPI-M.
The accused, who received copies of the charge sheet from the court, have decided to file discharge petitions, seeking to be removed from the case before the commencement of trial.
Speaking to the media after securing bail, Radhakrishnan alleged that the ED had included them in the list of accused not because they had committed any wrongdoing, but solely because they were CPI-M leaders.
–IANS
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