3 months ago
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The Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) connected Wednesday questioned Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana (SNDP) Yogam wide caput Vellappally Natesan arsenic portion of its High Court-ordered probe into a microfinance fraud. The interrogation reportedly took spot astatine his residence successful Alappuzha.
The VACB had indicted 5 people, including Mr. Natesan, for conspiracy and fiscal fraud based connected a ailment filed by the precocious Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan successful 2016 and booked them nether the applicable provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act and the Indian Penal Code.
The prosecution’s lawsuit was that the suspects had fraudulently misappropriated ample sums of wealth borrowed from banks done the Kerala State Backwards Classes Development Corporation connected the pretext of providing effect wealth to economically challenged SNDP Union members, mostly women, to commencement household-level enterprises specified arsenic soap, pickle, jam and incense instrumentality making.
The prosecution argued that the Yogam functionaries disbursed low-interest loans to self-help groups composed mostly of women astatine extortionate rates, pocketing the amerciable proceeds. The accused besides allegedly obtained loans successful their ain names utilizing fictitious identities and fake addresses.
Moreover, the accused allegedly failed to remit the indebtedness repayments from self-groups successful the banks concerned.
The wide fraud came to airy erstwhile loanees, an estimated 5,000 families, faced gross betterment proceedings initiated by banks contempt having redeemed their loans done timely owe payments to SNDP national office-bearers successful complaint of the microfinance scheme.
The VACB lawsuit was that the suspects formed a cartel to financially enrich themselves astatine the disbursal of the State and the scheme’s economically underprivileged subscribers. It pegged the estimated nonaccomplishment to the nationalist exchequer astatine ₹15 crore.
Achuthanandan took up the origin of the “swindled” families and petitioned the past United Democratic Front government. He threatened to determination the High Court if the authorities failed to registry a case. He raised the contented repeatedly successful the Assembly arsenic the Leader of the Opposition and urged the authorities to insulate the “deceived” families from gross betterment proceedings. Subsequently, the Crime Branch registered a lawsuit successful 2016.
The probe stalled nether the Left Democratic Front government. The authorities besides removed investigating serviceman P. Sasidharan. In July 2025, the High Court ordered the authorities to reinstate Mr. Sasidharan and expedite the filing of the complaint sheet.
The accused besides included erstwhile managing directors of the Kerala State Backwards Classes Development Corporation Najeeb and Dileep Kumar and microfinance main coordinator K.K. Maheshan and SNDP national president M.N. Soman.
Mr. Natesan has since maintained that helium was guiltless of immoderate wrongdoing and that helium was the unfortunate of a governmental witch-hunt prosecuted by the UDF regime.
He told reporters successful Alappuzha that earlier investigations had absolved him of wrongdoing and helium would beryllium his innocence successful tribunal and earlier the government.
