Enforcement Directorate Attaches Immovable Property worth Rs.25 Lakh of Ex-MLA

Under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) has temporarily attached assets worth Rs. 25 lakh of Asha Shaji, W/o. K. M. Shaji, (Ex-MLA), Azhikode Constituency, Kannur, Kerala. A residential property in Vengeri Village, Kakkodi SRO, Calicut is included in the attached asset.

The ED launched a money laundering inquiry based on a FIR filed by the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau in Kannur, Kerala, on April 18, 2020. The complaint against K. M. Shaji, then MLA, was filed by VACB under sections 7 and 13(1)(d) r/w/ 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. According to the FIR, K. M. Shaji accepted a bribe of Rs. 25 lakhs from a teacher on behalf of the school management in 2016, and the teacher was thereafter employed as a permanent teacher in a school in Azhikode.

The ED investigation indicated that a significant portion of the proceeds of crime generated by the aforementioned illicit activity were used to construct the aforementioned residential building in the name of Asha Shaji during the year 2016.