The Kozhikode Sub-Zonal Office of the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) conducted search operations at three locations in Kerala on August 28, following which they obtained Rs 3.50 lakh along with various incriminating documents that provided vital information regarding a case of routing illegal proceeds generated by duping United Bank Limited situated in Doha, Qatar.
According to a press release, the search operations were conducted under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) at the residential premises of individuals associated with Ismail Chakkarath, the suspect of routing illegal proceeds.
The ED initiated the investigation on the basis of an FIR registered by the Crime Branch of the Economic Offences Wing of Kannur and Kasargod units.
The FIR was registered on the allegations that the accused, Ismail Chakkarath, a resident of Thuvakkunnu, Kannur city in Kerala, took out a loan of QAR 30,643,204, which is equivalent to Rs. 61.28 crores from the United Bank Limited, to expand his firm M/S Grant Mart Trading in Doha, and did not pay the said amount nor use it for expanding the business establishment.
After the ED investigations, it was revealed that the loan availed in Qatar was diverted and invested under a benami name in Wayanad, Kerala.
Funds to the tune of Rs 2.02 crore were diverted for the purchase of one immovable property, which later did not materialise. Despite this, the purported seller remained in possession of the said Proceeds of Crime (POC) without returning it.
These searches resulted in the freezing of 10 bank accounts of Ismail Chakkarath and related entities, where part of the POC was found to be diverted.
Further investigation is under progress.
(With ANI Inputs)
