Thiruvananthapuram: The cooperative banking system of Kerala, once known for its people-friendly and transparent approach, is currently in turmoil. New stories of corruption emerge every day, with depositors’ hard-earned money untraceable by bank authorities.
The arrival of Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials from Delhi and their thorough investigation into the Karuvannur service cooperative bank, money laundering, and large-scale corruption have created a sense of panic among small-scale depositors, mostly Gulf-returnees who have deposited their hard-earned money in service cooperative banks.
Following the Karuvannur saga, Kandala service cooperative bank, Ayyanthol bank, and many others followed suit. Two arrests of bank directors, who are also leaders of the ruling CPI(M), has led to a full-scale political face-off between the ruling dispensation and the BJP, with the latter calling it a “political vendetta” to target political leaders in the state.
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“The ED is trying to harass those board directors who are connected with the CPI(M). This is nothing but a tactic used by the agency controlled by the BJP government to target the opposition ahead of the polls,” said CPI(M) state secretary MV Govindan Master while speaking to the media in Ernakulam.
However, many depositors who were CPI(M) sympathizers and members feel cheated by the bank authorities and have blamed the ruling party.
In a recent probe report by the registrar of cooperative societies, it was revealed that fraud was detected in 272 societies. Of the total, 202 societies where improprieties were found are headed by the Congress-led UDF (United Democratic Front), 63 cooperatives run by the CPI(M), and seven are run by administrators related to the BJP.
On Saturday morning, Kerala Bank president Gopi Kottamurikkal and Kannan held talks with CPI(M) state secretary MV Govindan at AKG Centre in the capital city to discuss options to provide a one-time financial aid to Karuvannur bank, which owes Rs 282 crores to its depositors.
Sources in the government say that Rs 100 crores will be provided to the ailing Karuvannur bank, where the fraud was detected earlier. The ruling party has faced a major backlash from its own allies and supporters after CPI(M) leaders were found to be involved in providing false guarantees to depositors when loans were granted to family members of the bank’s board members.
The Kerala government has been reiterating that cooperative sector depositors will not lose even a single penny. However, factors and figures suggest otherwise, with more depositors coming forward demanding that their deposited money be withdrawn.
A couple from Chittilappilly has raised a complaint against the Ayyanthol Cooperative Bank, where the Enforcement Directorate had conducted examinations. According to the couple, a Malappuram resident, Aboobacker, fled after taking a loan of Rs 1 crore in their name. The complaint also accuses Aboobacker of fraud with the knowledge of the bank authorities.
“We have no option left now but to move legally. There are many like us who are facing such issues,” said one of the depositors of the Kandala service cooperative bank, who didn’t want to reveal their identity.
The cooperative bank scam has made the ruling CPI(M) face a trust deficiency across Kerala. Over the past few weeks, the ED has tightened the screws on the alleged scam, much to the chagrin of party leaders and ministers in the state.
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