The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is investigating the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB)’s parking of ₹250 crore in Yes Bank.
Union Minister of State for Finance and Corporate Affairs Anurag Singh Thakur said this on Tuesday while responding to a question raised by Javed Ali Khan, MP, in the Rajya Saba on whether the Finance Ministry has received complaints of “financial corruption” in the KIIFB.
Mr. Thakur informed the Upper House that the ED had received a complaint against the KIIFB and its Chief Executive Officer (CEO) that the board had parked ₹250 crore with Yes Bank.
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The Minister said the ED has informed the ministry that “enquiries in the matter has been initiated and any disclosure in the matter at this stage can impact the process”.
‘Documents received’
“We have received most of the documents related to the KIIFB’s transactions with the bank, which are being scrutinised. Some more information is being collected. Further action will be taken on the basis of the findings,” said an agency official in New Delhi .
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In the Yes Bank case, the ED has so far attached properties worth over ₹3,000 crore. In July, the ED ordered attachment of assets valued around ₹2,800 crore. They belonged to the Rana Kapoor, the bank’s co-founder, and Kapil Wadhawan, Dheeraj Wadhawan, and the entities controlled by them. The ED is conducting a probe on the basis of two cases registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation in March.
Leader of Opposition Ramesh Chennithala had earlier alleged that KIIFB, a government-owned financial institution created to mobilize funds for infrastructure development from outside the State revenue, had parked ₹268 crore in YES Bank. Mr. Chennithala had demanded a probe into the parking of KIIFB funds in the new generation private banks.
Govt. refutes charges
Finance Minister T.M. Thomas Isaac had said that the allegations of the Leader of the Opposition were untrue. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has also stated that the dealings of the KIIFB were transparent and that the charges were baseless.
(With inputs from Devesh Kumar Pandey in New Delhi)