ED searches residences of Ex-MLA P V Anvar, four others in loan misappropriation case in Kerala

Malappuram: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday raided the premises of former MLA P V Anvar and four others in this district in connection with the Kerala Financial Corporation (KFC) loan misappropriation case, officials said.

The ED is probing a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) against Anvar (58), his driver Siyad, and three KFC officials — Abdul Manaf, T Mini and Muneer Ahamed.

According to ED sources, the agency initiated the investigation after the Kerala Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) recently registered a corruption case related to loan misappropriation at the KFC Malappuram office.

Officials said that in 2015, KFC Malappuram sanctioned a loan of Rs 7.5 crore to Anvar’s driver Siyad for business purposes without properly assessing the collateral.

Within months, loan repayments came to a halt.

Later, two additional loans — Rs 3.05 crore and Rs 1.56 crore — were sanctioned to Anvar’s firm, PVR Developers, against the same collateral on which the Rs 7.5 crore loan had been granted earlier, an official said.

KFC incurred a total loss of Rs 22.30 crore due to the alleged loan misappropriation.

The ED began its raid at Anvar’s residence in Edavanna and at his business establishments, including an amusement park in the district, at around 7 am.

Simultaneous searches were also carried out at the residences of Siyad and the KFC officials, the official said.

Last month, the ED recorded the statement of Murugesh Narendran, the complainant in the VACB case.

Anvar, a former MLA from Nilambur, parted ways with the LDF following differences and later contested the Assembly by-election on an All India Trinamool Congress ticket early this year.