Karuvannur bank scam: Money invested in real estate 

THRISSUR: It is learnt that the culprits, who had siphoned off over Rs 100 crore from CPM-ruled Karuvannur co-operative bank, have invested the money in the real estate sector. The fraudulent gang has apparently had made a huge profit by buying and selling land with the money and then re-depositing it in the bank.

The scam took place even during the time of the note ban. After possessing the documents including the Aadhaar of the borrowers, the gang used to mislead them by saying that there was no money due to the ban on the note and that it would be paid as soon as the crisis was over. A housewife who applied for a loan of Rs 10 lakh did not receive the money. However, there are complaints that the gang used the woman's documents to obtain an amount that was three times the appraised value of the land.

As per the complaints, around Rs 100 crore was siphoned off. However, it is alleged that around Rs 300 crore was embezzled. Over the past few weeks, several depositors, who had deposited several lakhs, started withdrawing money after realizing that the bank's operations were at a standstill.