ED questions Manjummel Boys' producer Soubin Shahir in money laundering case

Kochi: The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) on Friday questioned actor-producer Soubin Shahir in the money laundering case registered against the producers of the hit Malayalam movie 'Manjummel Boys'. The actor is likely to be summoned for questioning again.

Last week, the officials of the anti-money laundering agency registered an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) against the producers and sent notices to 'Parava Films' founders Soubin Shahir, Babu Shahir and Shawn Antony to appear for questioning. Shawn Antony has already been questioned by the ED.

'Manjummel Boys', which reportedly collected over Rs 220 crore at the box office, ran into trouble after a cheating case was filed against the makers. According to the complainant Siraj Valiyathara Hameed, he was promised a 40 per cent share of profits by Parava Films as he was a major investor in the movie. However, the makers backtracked from the promise, he claimed. ED had initiated raids within the film industry after reports of black money transactions were reported.

The case
Close on the heels of the resounding success of their film, the producers of the Malayalam blockbuster 'Manjummel Boys' found themselves in a spot of bother after the Maradu police in Kerala registered a case against them, including cheating charges, on a complaint that they failed to honour a promise over profit-sharing allegedly made to Siraj, an investor in the film.

The case was registered on April 23 at the direction of the Ernakulam First Class Magistrate Court. The investor filed the complaint alleging that the Manjummel Boys producers did not pay him a 40 per cent share of the profits as they had allegedly promised. Following this, the court ordered the freezing of the bank accounts of the producers.

In their anticipatory bail plea, Soubin and his co-accused stated that Siraj started demanding exorbitant amounts from them after online media reported that the film made a collection of Rs 250 crore. They said the amount would be settled as per the clauses in the investment agreement. The amount to be paid will be calculated after the entire revenue and expenses have been accounted for.