Kochi: The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) issued fresh summons on Wednesday to LDF MP K Radhakrishnan for interrogation related to the multi crore Karuvannur Co-Operative Bank scam. In its third summons to the CPM leader, the ED asked him to report at its Kochi office on April 8. According to ED officials, Radhakrishnan's statement will be recorded under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

Radhakrishnan had earlier approached the central agency, seeking more time for the interrogation after failing to appear at its Delhi office on March 17. The MP reportedly skipped the session, citing the need to return home to perform rituals as part of the last rites of his mother, who passed away in February. Days later, he sent an email to the agency requesting additional time, stating that he could appear for questioning only after the ongoing Lok Sabha session in Delhi and the CPM Congress in Madurai, scheduled from April 2 to 6. Considering his request, the ED decided to issue a fresh summons.

The central agency summoned the former minister amid preparations to file the final chargesheet.

Earlier, the ED had asked Radhakrishnan to appear at its Kochi office on March 13, but he did not turn up as he was attending the Lok Sabha session in Delhi. Manorama News reported that he received the summons only on Thursday when he returned to his home in Thrissur’s Chelakkara.

Following this, the ED issued a second summons for questioning at its Delhi office on March 17.

The Case
Radhakrishnan came under the ED’s radar as he was the district secretary of the party when financial irregularities worth ₹100 crore in Karuvannur Bank came to light.

The money laundering case stems from at least 16 FIRs registered by the Crime Branch of Kerala Police in Thrissur in July 2021, alleging 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 co-operative society members.

Benami loans were sanctioned to non-members based on "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 stated.

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