Thrissur: The crime branch officials who initially investigated the Karuvannur bank fraud allegedly concealed the roles of prominent political leaders, including a former MP in the scam. 

MK Biju and PP Kiran, the accused in the case, had confessed the roles of political bigwigs in the fraud. However, the crime branch refused to reveal the identities of several wrongdoers, succumbing to political pressure. The cops deliberately delayed the investigation, and also the filing of chargesheet, citing the magnitude of the scam. Meanwhile, the Kerala High Court, while considering the petition of Irinjalakuda native MV Suresh demanding a CBI investigation into Karuvannur bank fraud, had demanded the investigation progress report from the crime branch.

On November 4, 2022, the crime branch maintained before the court that the investigation prolonged since many of the documents were in the possession of the enforcement directorate. Now, the crime branch Palakkad unit has also been instructed to assist the officials in the investigation of the mammoth scam.        

It should be noted that former bank manager MK Biju Kareem and its member PP Kiran, who is accused of pulling off the biggest fraud at the bank, had explained the role of politicians in the scam at the cooperative bank to the ED. The information retrieved from the duo led to the arrest of P Satheesh Kumar, who is the benami of the politicians involved in the scam. P Satheesh Kumar aka Velappaya Satheeshan is accused of conducting fraudulent transactions amounting to Rs 500 crores at the Karuvannur bank.

MLA AC Moideen (CPM state committee member), Anoop Davis Cada (Thrissur Corporation Councillor), PR Aravindakshan (standing committee chairman, Wadakkanchery municipality), and its councillor Madhu Ambalapuram are among the prominent people who have been questioned so far in connection with the case. A former and a sitting MLA will also be questioned in the case.