Kerala CSR fund scam: Retired justice booked, prime accused taken to his offices for evidence collection

Retired Kerala High Court Judge, Justice CN Ramachandran Nair has been booked in the Kerala Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) fund scam. The Kerala CSR fund scam, also known as a half-price scam, involved alleged extortion of money from multiple individuals through a promises of delivering two-wheelers, laptops, and other household appliances at half price, falsely claiming to utilise Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funds.

The Kerala police registered a cheating case against retired Justice Ramachandran Nair on Sunday for allegedly swindling Rs 34 lakh in the CSR fund scam. However, the retired Justice has reacted saying that the police have registered the case against him without conducting a preliminary investigation. He further alleged that the police action was based on false accusations.

Justice (retired) Ramachandran Nair, who was a trustee of the National NGO Confederation, is the third accused in the case after Sai Gramam Global Trust chairman KN Anand Kumar and Anandhu Krishnan aka Ananthu Krishnan. Ananthu Krishnan is also the prime accused in this case. Meanwhile, the Kerala police took the main accused, Ananthu Krishnan, to his offices in Erattupetta, Idukki, and Kolapra on Saturday for evidence collection.

Complaint by Kisan Service Society

A case was recently registered at Perinthalmanna police station based on a complaint by Danimon, the president of Angadippuram Kisan Service Society (KSS), the implementing agency of the scheme. According to the complaint, the trio collected Rs 34 lakh from KSS as instalments. The police have filed charges under Section 318(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) against the accused, which deals with the punishment for cheating that causes someone to deliver property or make changes to a valuable security.

Danimon has alleged that NGO Confederation cheated Kisan Service Society – which was the implementing agency for the scheme used to provide various items including two- wheelers, laptops and sewing machines to people at 50% discount – of approximately Rs 34 lakh under the scheme. As per the complainant, KSS and and people, who signed up for the scheme, were cheated between April and Nov 2024.

ED & CEIB investigating Kerala CSR funds scam

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Central Economic Intelligence Bureau (CEIB) have launched an investigation into the Rs 800 crore CSR fund scam in Kerala. As per preliminary investigation by Kerala Police, Ananthu Krishnan, the prime accused, defrauded at least Rs 800 crore through fraudulent CSR schemes.

Complaints being lodged across Kerala in CSR scam

Amid ongoing investigation, complaints related to the CSR fund scam are being lodged from various parts of the state. According to Ernakulam Rural Police, about 200 complaints have been received from the district in connection with the fraud. More than 750 complaints have been received in various police stations in Kottayam, while complaints have also been filed in Kannur, Malappuram, Idukki, and Kasaragod districts.

Around 500 complaints have been lodged in Kannur alone. The Kannur Town Police recently registered a case against Congress leader Laly Vincent in connection with the scheme. The number of complaints is expected to grow up considering that more than 7,000 people had enrolled in the scheme offered by Krishnan’s company.

Prime accused Ananthu Krishnan’s political connection

The Kerala Police team has revealed a connection between prime accused Ananthu Krishnan and various political leaders, ranging from minor politicians to high-profile figures. Investigators have disclosed that Krishnan used to financially support at least 50 political leaders across various parties. Apart from direct contributions to election campaigns, he would reportedly sponsor multiple programmes organised by political parties. However, the recipients’ names have not been revealed by the police yet.

How Ananthu Krishnan duped people

According to the police, prime accused Anandhu Krishnan aka Ananthu Krishnan used more than 200 NGOs to offer fraudulent half-price schemes for various products such as scooters, laptops, home appliances, etc. Krishnan, 26, a resident of Idukki, allegedly cheated people and charitable societies across the state by promising to deliver two-wheelers, laptops and household appliances such as water purifiers and sewing machines at half the price, claiming that he was procuring them through corporate social responsibility (CSR) funds of big private firms. He also operated almost 19 bank accounts through which transactions amounting to almost Rs 450 crore were done in the past several months, as per the police.

Ananthu had allegedly formed shell companies and partnerships for conducting the financial fraud. Notable among these was a limited liability partnership company called Social Bee, which was headquartered in Kochi. The police suspect that Krishnan has collcted several crores under the guise of this company alone. This company has been closed since Krishnan’s arrest.

“The modus operandi was that Anandhu Krishnan tied up with several charitable trusts as the coordinator of the National NGO Federation and promised them that he would offer two-wheelers and other products at half the price. The trusts would help him in identifying beneficiaries, pooling funds, and giving publicity to the whole initiative. Krishnan went on to cheat people as well as the charitable trusts by failing to fulfil the promise,” a police officer said.

Role of NGOs under scanner

In his statement to investigators, Krishnan also claimed that K. N. Anandakumar, Chairman of the NGO Confederation and a well-known social activist in Kerala, received Rs 10 lakh per month from him. His statement has added a new dimension to the case, raising questions about the involvement of non-governmental organisations in the scam.