Kochi: The Directorate of Enforcement has served a fresh summons to Lok Sabha MP K Radhakrishnan, asking him to appear for an interrogation related to the Karuvannur co-operative bank scam. In the summons sent via email, ED asked the CPM leader to appear its Delhi office on Monday. 

According to ED officials, the MP from Alathur has been asked to record his statement under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

ED took the move after Radhakrishnan sought more time to appear for interrogation in its Kochi office, citing inconvenience due to the Lok Sabha session.

Radhakarishnan has come under the radar of the ED as he was the district secretary of the party when the financial irregularities worth Rs 600 crore in Karuvannur bank came into light.

The money laundering case stems from at least 16 FIRs registered by the Crime Branch of Kerala Police at Thrissur in July 2021 on charges of alleged irregularities in the CPM-controlled bank.

The ED claimed that "bogus" loans were sanctioned by the co-operative bank multiple times against the same property without the knowledge of the members of the co-operative society.

Benami loans were sanctioned to non-members against "inflated" property valuations in the names of other members and such funds were "siphoned off" and "laundered" by the accused beneficiaries, the central agency had earlier said.

It conducted raids in this case in August-September 2023 and arrested four people, apart from attaching assets worth Rs 117 crore. The ED had also claimed in a press statement issued in January that benami loans were disbursed by the bank on the "instructions" of CPM district committee members and the party.