Kochi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has taken decisive action by freezing bank accounts and seizing property documents belonging to Abdurahiman Chenoth Thirummal, a businessman accused of defrauding multiple banks in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) of approximately Rs 340 crore. The ED's intervention follows the filing of an FIR by the Chandera Police in Kasaragod, Kerala.
As per the FIR lodged by the Chandera police, Abdurahiman, a resident of Mettammal village in Kasaragod's Trikaripur gram panchayat, obtained a business loan of 68.159 million Arab Emirates dirhams (AED) from Invest Bank in Sharjah for the development of his enterprise, Hexa Oil & Gas Services LLC. The bank disbursed the funds in two installments, one in October 2017 and the other in January 2018. Despite making partial repayments, Abdurahiman still had an outstanding debt of 42.898 million dirhams or Rs 83.36 crore to the bank. In February 2021, a representative from Invest Bank filed a cheating complaint (under Section 420 of the IPC) against Abdurahiman with the Chandera Police.
In 2022, Shamsheer Sam, a resident of Mogral Puthur gram panchayat in Kasaragod, filed a complaint with the Chandera Police, alleging that Abdurahiman forced him to take a personal loan of 340,000 dirhams (approximately Rs 77.24 lakh) but failed to repay the borrowed amount. The police initially closed the case, citing relief sought by Abdurahiman from the High Court of Kerala, which resulted in a stay on the police investigation in the alleged cheating case involving Invest Bank. Regarding Shamsheer Sam's case, the police investigation revealed disparities between the statements provided to the court by Shamsher Sam and the one given at the police station. Consequently, the police submitted a report to the court reflecting these inconsistencies, leading to the closure of the case.
Despite this, the Enforcement Directorate, based in Kochi, reopened the case, following leads from the initial FIR lodged at the Chandera Police Station. On December 7th, the ED conducted search operations at eight locations linked to Abdurahiman, his wife Zareena Majeed, and their associates in Kochi, Kozhikode, and Kasaragod. While the initial complaint cited a sum of 42.898 million dirhams (Rs 83.36 crore), the ED revealed that its investigation uncovered Abdurahiman's acquisition of loans amounting to approximately 150 million dirhams (around Rs 340 crore) from various banks, including Invest Bank.
In a statement, the ED said, "He is suspected to have diverted funds withdrawn in cash through hawala channels and invested the same in multiple companies in the fields of construction, media, chemical industry and information technology. Our searches have revealed the modus operandi of this large-scale cross-border offence of money laundering."
The ED highlighted Abdurahiman's fraudulent activities, deceiving foreign banks, misappropriating funds intended for business ventures, and diverting them for personal gain. The agency reported the seizure of several incriminating documents and electronic devices during the raids. The ED has directed the freezing of Rs 3.58 crore in the bank accounts of Abdurahiman and other implicated individuals in the case. Additionally, it has confiscated the documents of his real estate holdings and shares in affiliated companies.
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