THIRUVANANTHAPUAM: Senior IAS officer B Ashok has been removed from the post of chairman of KTDFC, which was unable to return money to investors. KSRTC chairman and managing director Biju Prabhakar was given the charge instead.

KTDFC was handed over to the KSRTC CMD amid reports that the government is considering raising money by selling or leasing the commercial complexes built by KTDFC for KSRTC as there is no way to return the money to the investors. KTDFC got into financial trouble by giving loans to KSRTC.

In 2015, KSRTC had taken a loan of Rs 595 crore from KTDFC. In return, KTDFC demanded a payment of Rs 915 crore. Biju Prabhakar's criticism was that KTDFC had put KSRTC in a crisis by charging exorbitant interest rates. KTDFC is not able to repay anyone even after the deposit period. The public investment in the institution is 580 crore rupees. The RBI has warned that the license to operate as a non-banking financial institution will be revoked if the deposits are not returned. Investors have approached the court to get their money back.