Bineesh Kodiyeri, son of Kerala CPM state secretary who is under the custody of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for ‘funding’ a drug cartel in Bengaluru, had Rs 54 lakh deposits in different banks between 2018-19 and he has been seen using banned drugs, said the ED in its custody application.
On October 29, Bineesh was arrested by the ED under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) of 2002, as Bengluru drug cartel members allegedly revealed that Bineesh had funded them.
As Bineesh’s custody ended on Monday, ED officials produced him before the court in the evening. Hearing the custodial application, the court had extended custody till Saturday.
The ED’s custody application seen by The Lede reveals that Bineesh had made some 10,000 bank transactions during the last few years. The ED has stated in the custody application that it needs time to assess the notes.
A chart detailed in the same custody application reveals that between 2012-19, Bineesh had cash deposits of around Rs 5 crore.
The ED has stated that huge cash deposits are “proceeds of crime generated through the narcotics business”.
Quoting a statement from one Suhas K, the ED has stated that “Suhas has seen Bineesh using cocaine.”
The ED has also claimed that during questioning, Bineesh also revealed the names of two benami companies — Rianha Event Management Pvt Ltd registered in Ernakulam and Youth Events Management and Productions Pvt Ltd registered in Bengaluru. The ED has said that it has sought details of the companies from the Registrar of Companies and is awaiting details.
According to the ED, Bineesh had funded Mohammed Anoop, a drug peddler arrested in the Bengaluru drug case.
Upon grilling by the ED earlier, Anoop had revealed that Bineesh is his boss.
Anoop was arrested by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) in the Bengaluru drug case along with Kannada television star D Anika and Rijosh Raveendran, a Palakkad resident, on August 28.
The NCB team had seized 145 ecstasy or MDMA pills and over Rs 2.2 lakh in cash from a hotel apartment in Bengaluru during a raid.
There are also allegations that Bineesh had invested money in a hotel business launched by Anoop in 2015 in Bengaluru.
Responding to that allegation, Bineesh had said then that he knew Anoop who had borrowed money from him and some others for launching a hotel and restaurant business in Bengaluru a few years ago.
In addition to the money laundering case, Bineesh is also facing action from the Debt Recovery Tribunal for a loan he had taken from Punjab National Bank in connection with his partnership in Old Coffee House in Shankumugham Beach in Thiruvananthapuram.
ED claims that he had bought the Old Coffee House by mortgaging his mother-in-law’s property. The ED note reveals that he had also transferred money connected to Old Coffee House to Anoop’s account.
Additionally, the ED has also said in the note – “Bineesh had faced a bank case in Dubai during his stay there between 2008 and 2013, and those details also have to be probed.”
PNB Loan Case
The Lede found that the Debt Recovery Tribunal has registered a case and the next hearing is scheduled for November 25.
According to the DRT document, other than Bineesh, Anand Padmanabhan, Arun S, and Mini Pradeep are listed as additional parties.
Anand, who is the MD of Chennai-based Torres Remedies Pvt Ltd, is under the ED scanner. Arun is a resident of Thiruvananthapuram and Mini is Bineesh’s mother-in-law.
Meanwhile, the ED has also named Abdul Lateef in connection with Old Coffee House. ED sources told The Lede that “Abdul has reportedly acted as Bineesh’s benami.”
Abdul runs a car accessories showroom in Thiruvananthapuram and UAFX Solutions, a company connected with UAE Consulate Visa stamping and money transaction business. The ED has raided the car accessories showroom as well.
Earlier, Abdul was named by Swapna in the UAE-Kerala gold smuggling case and he was questioned by Customs officials.
Around 30 kg of gold smuggled to Kerala from UAE was seized at Thiruvananthapuram International Airport on June 30. The gold was concealed in a cargo addressed to an official’s name at the UAE Consulate in Thiruvananthapuram.
However, the ED could not question Abdul in the money laundering case connected to Bineesh.
The ED note, seen by The Lede, says that Abdul’s mother is COVID-19 positive, and he is under home quarantine.
On Wednesday morning, the ED had raided Bineesh’s house in Thiruvananthapuram, where his father and CPM state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan also resides.
However, at the time of the raid, Balakrishnan was not present in the house.
The ED team was accompanied by armed officials from the CRPF and the Karnataka Police.
On Thursday, Bineesh’s relatives started a sit-in protest in front of Bineesh’s house as they have been denied entry to the house by the ED, CRPF and police.
Bineesh’s wife told the media that her husband is neither a “boss” nor a don. “He is the father of my two children. They had pressurised to sign a paper stating that they have found a credit card of Anoop from this house. I have not,” she told the media.
Meanwhile, Kerala Child Rights Commission officials came to Bineesh’s house alleging that Bineesh’s two-year-old child’s rights were violated. The child was inside the house when the raid took place.
Bineesh’s lawyers have approached the court alleging the same.