Kochi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has frozen and seized assets valued at approximately Rs 103 crore in its money-laundering investigation into the Bharath Lajhna Multi State Housing Co-operative Society Ltd (BLMSHCS), the agency's Kochi zonal office confirmed on Thursday (November 5). The action follows coordinated searches at 12 locations a day earlier, spanning Chennai, Ernakulam, Kozhikode, Thrissur, Thiruvananthapuram and Munnar, under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

Source: Mirror Now

The seized assets include eight luxury vehicles — among them Porsche, Rolls-Royce, Mercedes and Toyota models — valued at about Rs 7 crore, 7.4 kg of gold jewellery worth Rs 9.6 crore, shares valued at Rs 80 crore, immovable properties worth Rs 5 crore and bank balances of Rs 1.86 crore, the ED said.

Source: Mirror Now

The ED probe began after the Kerala Police registered an FIR against R Premkumar, the society's founding member and de facto chairman and managing director. The complaint alleges that he used his position to siphon public deposits into accounts of family members and relatives, and that society properties were mortgaged to raise loans whose proceeds were allegedly diverted to acquire personal assets. These are allegations under investigation; no court has held them proved.

Source: Mirror Now

According to the ED, about 320 bank accounts operated by Premkumar and his associates were allegedly used to layer the diverted funds and conceal their origin. While the initial proceeds of crime were estimated at Rs 80 crore, the agency said the total misuse of society funds is likely to run into hundreds of crores and is still being quantified. The ED also said Premkumar continued to exercise control over the society's affairs, including signing statutory documents, during the period under probe.

Source: Mirror Now

Thursday's freeze is the latest escalation in a case Awaaz Punjab has been tracking: the ED searched premises linked to Premkumar and others in Kochi, Kozhikode and Chennai on November 4, and the Kerala Crime Branch had arrested him at his Chennai residence on October 29 and produced him before a magistrate's court in Kozhikode. Investigators have also examined the society's bank accounts to trace the movement of depositors' money.

Source: The420

Founded in Chennai in 2006, the society says it runs about 150 branches and has more than 15 lakh members across Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, which is why investigators say the outcome of the probe matters to a very large number of small depositors.

Source: Devdiscourse (ANI)

BLM's management has denied the allegations of deposit fraud, maintaining that the society's assets exceed its liabilities to depositors. The ED said its investigation is continuing as it traces the movement of the funds.