Kottayam: After 27 years on the run, Mulamkunnathuparambil Gopinathan Nair, former secretary of the Elangulam Cooperative Bank in Ponkunnam and an accused in misappropriation of bank funds, has finally landed in Vigilance custody.

Gopinathan Nair, accused in a major financial scam that took place in the bank between 1993 and 1997, was apprehended at Nedumbassery Airport in Kochi by the Emigration wing while attempting to board a flight to the United States. Initially detained by Nedumbassery police, he was later arrested by the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB), Kottayam Unit. He was soon produced before the Vigilance Court in Muvattupuzha, which remanded him into judicial custody.

According to vigilance officials, Nair has been arraigned as an accused in as many as 12 cases related to the embezzlement of ₹2 crore. The total scam in the bank amounts to ₹12 crore.

After being declared the prime accused, Nair went into hiding in 1998, prompting the authorities to issue 38 arrest warrants and a look-out circular through Interpol. Officials revealed that Gopinathan Nair was arrested at the airport while travelling with his wife to visit their daughter in the US. Despite his arrest, his wife continued her journey.

Major irregularities uncovered
An inquiry commission, led by Assistant Registrar of Cooperative Societies, Thomas T Punnen, found that the CPM led administrative council of the Elangulam Cooperative Bank’s, which was elected in 1993, was responsible for financial mismanagement amounting to ₹12 crore till 1997. The key violations committed by the council included granting loans beyond permissible limits, ignoring eligibility criteria for loans and fraudulent transactions through hundi-bill discounting.

The commission also discovered that loans up to ₹43 lakh were sanctioned against applications eligible for only ₹5 lakh. It also found that discounted cheques were not retained in the bank’s records.