ED arrests Kannur man in Qatar bank loan fraud case

New Delhi/Kozhikode: The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) said on Wednesday that it has arrested a Kannur-based individual on charges of money laundering in connection with an alleged illegal diversion of loan funds exceeding Rs 61 crore, taken from a bank in Qatar. Ismail Chakkarath of Thalassery was taken into custody on Tuesday and produced before a court in Kozhikode, which remanded him to judicial custody until December 10, according to a statement from the federal agency.

The money laundering case stems from an FIR filed by the Kerala Police Crime Branch regarding the "non-repayment" of a loan amounting to QAR 30,643,204 (approximately Rs 61.3 crore) from the United Bank Limited in Qatar. The loan was taken for the business development of Grand Mart Trading in Qatar.

The ED claimed that the loan was "neither repaid nor utilised" for its stated purpose of business expansion and was "illegally diverted" to India, preventing the Qatari bank from taking further action to recover the funds.

The agency's investigation revealed that the loan funds were "diverted" to India and invested in "benami" transactions in Wayanad. "Rs 2.02 crore was allegedly used for an attempted purchase of immovable property, which was not finalised. The funds remained with the purported seller, and properties and assets acquired using these funds were held in the names of his associates to conceal the actual ownership," the ED stated.

The ED also mentioned that it had recorded statements from individuals who claimed that a "significant" portion of the loan funds was "diverted" for property acquisitions and investments, implicating Chakkarath in the money laundering offence.