ED attaches assets of key accused in bank fraud-OxBig News Network

The Kochi zonal office of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has provisionally attached immovable properties worth around ₹1.11 crore of Vijish Varghese, who was a clerk at the Pathanamthitta branch of the Canara Bank, and his wife Surya Thara George under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.

The agency had initiated the investigation on the basis of a first information report (FIR) registered under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, and the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, at the Pathanamthitta police station, according to an official release. According to the FIR, the accused, who was a clerk at the Pathanamthitta Branch II of the Canara Bank, had fraudulently swindled around ₹8.13 crore through 191 transactions between December 6, 2019 and February 2021.

The transactions were allegedly made to various accounts held in his name as well as in the names of his wife and father-in-law. He had reportedly used the login credentials of the assistant manager of a branch to conduct the transactions. He reportedly transferred a significant portion of the alleged misappropriated funds for investments in stocks and shares.

The investigation revealed that Vijish Varghese and his wife were found in possession of the proceeds of crime and had personally utilised them through cash withdrawal including for repayment of loans. The immovable properties of the accused were attached as the value equivalent of the property derived or obtained directly or indirectly as a result of criminal activity related to the scheduled offence.