Rs two crore bribe to avoid case; Kochi ED officer named first accused

KOCHI: An Enforcement Directorate official was named the first accused in a fraud case registered by the same central agency. The Vigilance has registered a case against ED Assistant Director Shekhar Kumar the first accused. It is reported that the officer is currently working in the Kochi office. Three people, including a chartered accountant, were arrested by the vigilance in the incident.

Chartered accountant Ranjith a Thammanam native, Wilson (36), a native of Ernakulam, and Murali Mukesh (54), a native of Rajasthan, were arrested by the Ernakulam Vigilance team in the same case.

Vigilance has revealed that Shekhar Kumar and the second accused Wilson conspired and embezzled money extensively. It has also been discovered that Wilson tried to extort money by threatening more people. He was also involved in gold smuggling through the Thiruvananthapuram airport. ED has also started an investigation after one of their own officers was named as an accused.

The accused demanded a bribe of Rs. 2 crore from the complainant, a cashew nut businessman from Kottarakkara. Wilson was caught while accepting Rs. 2 lakh from the complainant. Last year, the complainant received a summons from the Kochi ED office, stating that the cashew industry had a high turnover and that this money was being used abroad using forged documents. The complainant then appeared at the ED office. The complainant revealed that the ED officials told him to show the records and accounts of his businesses from years ago, or else threatened to file a case.

After this, Wilson contacted the complainant several times over the phone, introducing himself as an agent of the ED officer. Later, he met the complainant in person and informed him that the ED officials had demanded Rs 2 crore to drop him from the case. The complainant was also told that a summons could be sent from the office to prove his connection with the ED office. Accordingly, the complainant received another summons on the 14th. On the same day, Wilson met the complainant near the ED office.

To settle the case, he was instructed to deposit Rs 2 crore in four instalments of Rs 50 lakh each into a private bank account in Mumbai. He was also told to hand over Rs 2 lakh in cash to Wilson and to deposit an additional Rs 50 lakh when making the payment. The bank account details were also exchanged.

Following this, the complainant informed the Ernakulam Vigilance Deputy Superintendent of Police, who then initiated vigilance surveillance. Wilson was caught by the vigilance while accepting Rs 2 lakh from the complainant at around 3:30 pm last Thursday. The role of Murali Mukesh, a native of Rajasthan, came to light later.