Kerala: CPM controlled Cooperative bank dissolved after Rs 14 crore fraud is unearthed

The CPM-controlled Muttathara Co-operative Bank was dissolved by Minister VN Vasavan on Tuesday following allegations of corruption. A fraud of Rs 14 core was unearthed during the investigation by the Registrar.

Thiruvananthapuram: The CPM-controlled Muttathara Co-operative Bank has been dissolved by Minister VN Vasavan following allegations of corruption.
An investigation by the Registrar of Co-operatives found irregularities. Based on this, the bank was dissolved by Co-operation and Registration Minister VN Vasavan. 

The secretary was suspended during the preliminary investigation when the allegation was raised, after which the cooperative registrar's investigation revealed a fraud of around Rs 14 crore. On the basis of this report, the Minister directed to dissolve the bank.

The administration of the bank was controlled by the administrative committee comprising CPM district committee member Sundar and president and municipal councilor Salim. Irregularities similar to the fraud in Karivallur and some other co-operatives were found in Muttattara Co-operative Bank. The management committee's claim that there was no irregularity and that all investor money would be repaid was rejected, and Muttathara Co-operative Bank was dissolved.

Earlier, a Rs 350-crore loan scandal was exposed in CPM-controlled Karuvannur Service Cooperative Bank in Thrissur.

Only members of the second governing board and bank employees have been named as defendants, despite the fact that investigations, including those by the Crime Branch, had discovered extensive fraudulent operations in loan approval and deposit acceptance under the two governing boards of the CPM in the Karuvannur bank beginning in 2014.