Malappuram: In a major setback to the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) in Kerala, the Income Tax Department has served a notice to its 16 leaders including state committee members over AR Nagar Co-operative Bank fraud. In the notice, the department has asked the leaders to furnish the documents of Rs 1.35 crore in the party's fake bank account.
PPA Kareem, former district president of IUML in Wayanad, senior leaders PKK Bava and Ummar Pandikasala received the notice. If the leaders fail to produce the documents, they will face action including attachment of their properties. Manorama News reported that those who received the notice are planning to approach the state leadership claiming that they are unaware of the bank fraud.
AR Nagar Cooperative Bank here came under scanner in 2021 after the state cooperative department found huge black money and illegal transactions to the tune of Rs 1,021 crore. IT department's examination of 257 customer IDs played a crucial role in identifying the scam.
IUML leaders received the I-T notice a week after the Kerala High Court sought the responses of the state government and Registrar of Cooperative Societies to a writ petition seeking a probe under the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the alleged irregularities in the AR bank.