'There were massive money transactions'; there is evidence against Aravindakshan and Jils in Karuvannur bank fraud case, says court

KOCHI: The Special PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act) Court said that there is evidence against CPM leader and Wadakkancherry Municipal Standing Committee Chairman PR Aravindakshan and former senior accountant of the bank CK Jils, who are on remand in the Karuvannur Cooperative Bank fraud case. The trial court stated this in the order rejecting the bail application of both. Although the Ernakulam PMLA court rejected the bail application of the accused this morning, the information in the order was released by the evening.

The court stated that massive money transactions had taken place and that the role of the accused was clear from the testimonies of the witnesses. The court said that the answer given by the accused regarding the source of the money in their accounts was not credible. The court also observed that the accused are likely to influence the witnesses considering their political connections and the seriousness of the crimes. Some key witnesses belong to the same political party as the accused. The court order stated that the accused are likely to influence the witnesses as the investigation of the case is in its preliminary stage.

Enforcement Directorate (ED) had found that PR Aravindakshan, the third accused in the case, had laundered black money. ED had produced documents of Aravindakshan's financial transactions with P Satish Kumar, the main accused in the case, and the phone conversations proving this in the court. ED contended that the accused should not be granted bail as the investigation was ongoing.