Kerala CSR funds scam: Key accused Ananthu Krishnan to return to judicial custody after police interrogation

Key accused in Kerala CSR funds scam, Ananthu Krishnan, to return to judicial custody after extensive police investigation.

Ananthu Krishnan, the key accused in the CSR funds scam in Kerala, is set to be returned to judicial custody on Monday (February 10, 2025) after being in the custody of the Ernakulam Rural police for the last five days.

He will be produced in a court in Muvattupuzha around 11 a.m. During his custody, the police interrogated him extensively. They raided the office of National NGO Confederation, which he allegedly set up to pull off the scam, a villa at Kaloor in Kochi, an office of another NGO he had set up at Kalamassery, and a flat near the Kerala High Court as part of evidence collection.

“We have traced around 19 bank accounts to his name through which transactions worth over ₹500 crores have taken place over the last couple of years. Currently, these accounts collectively have only around ₹3.5 crore,” said the investigation sources.

While being taken around for evidence collection, Mr. Krishnan claimed before the media that he had made payouts to many political leaders. However, the investigation sources said that those claims need to be independently verified.

The Ernakulam Rural police alone have registered around 35 cases based on over 300 complaints. Mr. Krishnan is the key accused in all cases, other than the named NGOs which had served as intermediaries for collecting the funds. The Economic Offences wing of the State Crime Branch is likely to take up the investigation into the scam later on Monday.

The Kannur police have reportedly registered over 200 cases and the Malappuram police around 150 cases. Cases have also been registered in Idukki, Mr. Krishnan’s native district, Wayanad, Alapuzha and Kozhikode.

Meanwhile, an audio clip of K.N. Ananda Kumar, chairman of the National NGO Confederation, has emerged in which he has claimed not to have gone into hiding as speculated. Mr. Kumar, also the founder and executive director of Sri Sathya Sai Orphanage Trust-Kerala, claimed that he had not personally received any funds and that the donations received by the trust had been accounted for and taxed. He was arraigned as an accused along with the former Kerala High Court Judge C.N. Ramachandran Nair in a case registered by the Perinthalmanna police.