Bengaluru: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has submitted before the Karnataka High Court that the business ventures of Bineesh Kodiyeri, son of senior CPM leader Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, were a front to launder black money.
The ED presented strong proof supporting its arguments. For instance, the agency told the court that Bineesh’s claim that he had lent several lakhs of rupees to Anoop Muhammed, an accused in a drugs case, to carry out business could not be believed. “How could anyone lend big amounts of money without charging interest or seeking collateral?” asked additional solicitor general Aman Lekhi, who appeared for ED before the court.
Moreover, Bineesh had not mentioned in his Income Tax returns the money obtained as loan by pledging the Old Coffee House building at Shangumugham in Thiruvananthapuram, said the ED’s advocate.
Similarly, the accused in the drugs case had given statements which indicated that Bineesh had first met Anoop during a rave party.
Another piece of evidence against Bineesh is the absence of any records of daily monetary transactions related to the wholesale fish and vegetable business he reportedly carried out. “Bineesh claims that a friend who was bringing these records by train to present them before ED was robbed during the journey and these documents were lost. This statement cannot be taken at face value,” said the ED.
Driver, partner missing
The ED’s advocate further pointed out to the court that two persons who are crucial links between Bineesh and Anoop are now missing.
Driver Anikuttan, who had reportedly handed over Bineesh’s money to Anoop, and Bineesh’s business partner S Arun who were summoned for questioning several times had not appeared before the ED so far, said Lekhi.
“If the business deals were above board, why are they hiding?” he asked.
Similarly, the building owners where Bineesh’s offices are functioning as per records have no clue about these concerns. The ventures are B Capital Forex Trading at Bengaluru and B Capital Financial Services in Kerala.
The defence arguments in the case against Bineesh related to laundering money gained through drug deals will start on September 23.