Kandala bank scam: ED charges Bhasurangan, five other accused

KOCHI: The ED has filed a chargesheet naming former CPI leader and bank president N Bhasurangan as the first accused in the Kandala Cooperative Bank black money transaction case. There are six accused in the charge sheet, including his son Akhiljith and his family members. Bhasurangan and the second accused Akhiljith are in jail.

A chargesheet filed in a special court under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) alleged that Bhasurangan and his family committed a fraud of Rs 3.22 crore. The accused invested the money obtained by taking fake loans in the name of family members in various business ventures. It is also stated in the 7,000-page charge sheet that Bhasurangan had extorted crores of rupees as a loan in the name of benami. It has also been added that the investigation by the Registrar of Cooperatives found that the bank incurred a loss of Rs 57 crores. The investigation was led by ED Assistant Director Satyaveer Singh.