ED registers case agaisnt Thumboor Cooperative Bank

Kochi: Yet another co-operative bank in Thrissur district has come under the scanner of the Enforcement Directorate for financial fraud to the tune of Rs.1.9 crore. The national agency probing financial fraud has registered a case against Thumboor Service Cooperative Bank under the rule of the Congress-led UDF. This is the fifth bank in the district facing  ED probe.

Earlier, an investigation by the Cooperative Department had unearthed misappropriation of funds that resulted in Rs. 3.88 crore loss for the bank. Following this ED started a probe into the financial dealings of the bank and came across financial fraud worth Rs. 1.9 crore.

The agency had screened the financial dealings transacted by the bank, now under administrative control, for the period from 2015 to 2017. The agency found that the bank had disbursed Rs.1.9 crore to seven individuals under the land mortgaged scheme. The land was mortgaged without the consent or knowledge of the land owner, according to reports.

The loan was sanctioned on a report submitted by a director of the bank. The landowner approached a civil court against the bank

ED Meanwhile, the agency’s investigation into the financial irregularities at the CPM-controlling Karuvannur Bank is nearing completion. Its probe at cooperative banks at Kuttanellur and Ayyanthole is progressing. Barring the Thumboor banks, all other four banks are CPM-controlling ones.