1,343 cases registered in Kerala CSR funds scam, says CM Pinarayi Vijayan

Kerala Police investigates ₹281.43 crore fake CSR funds scam promising discounted scooters, laptops; 665 cases with Crime Branch.

The Kerala Police has till March 12 registered a total of 1,343 cases related to the fake corporate social responsibility (CSR) funds scam in which people were allegedly cheated by falsely promising scooters and laptops at half price using fake CSR funds, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan told the Kerala Assembly on Monday (March 17).

Responding to questions, he said that the accused had collected ₹281.43 crore from 49,386 people, promising to provide them two wheelers at half the cost. Out of them, two wheelers were provided only to 16,438 people.

Additionally, out of the 36,891 people from whom the accused had collected ₹9.22 crore promising them laptops at half price, it was provided only to 29,897 people. Similarly, out of the 56,082 persons from whom ₹23.24 crore was collected for a similar scheme for sewing machines, it was provided only to 53,478 persons. A total of 665 cases have been handed over to the Crime Branch, with ADGP (Crime Branch) leading the investigation.

Anandhu Krishnan, the prime accused in the case, was arrested by the police earlier in connection with the multi-crore scam. The other arrested persons include K.N. Ananda Kumar, chairman of the National NGO Confederation, Ravi Panackal, P.P. Basheer, Riyas and Muhammed Shafi. The police have identified 23 bank accounts related to the accused and institutions run by them. The court proceedings to attach their property have begun.

Mr. Vijayan said that the involvement of political leaders in the scam can be confirmed only after a detailed investigation.

He said that the accused had gained the trust of the general public by posting photographs of them with well-known personalities. They had also appointed co-ordinators and field staff in various regions across Kerala. In the first phase, all the women who joined the scheme got scooters at half price, which led many people to trust the scheme and join it. However, those who joined later failed to get anything even after paying the money, following which complaints were filed.

He said that awareness campaigns have to be taken up to ensure that people do not fall for such schemes which offer unrealistic returns. The police, even if they suspect a possible scam, have limitations in intervening until some wrongdoing comes to light, he added.