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ED challenges Bineesh Kodiyeri’s bail in top court
The ED case is related to a drug seizure in Bengaluru two years ago. The Karnataka high court had granted Kodiyeri Balakrishnan’s son Bineesh bail in October last year after he spent one-year in jail in connection with the money laundering case.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Saturday moved the Supreme Court with a plea to cancel the bail of Bineesh Kodiyeri, the son of CPI(M) Kerala unit secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, saying it has strong evidence against Bineesh in a money-laundering case.
The case is related to a drug seizure in Bengaluru two years ago. The Karnataka high court had granted him bail in October last year after he spent one-year in jail in connection with the case.
The ED deputy director in Bengaluru said in his plea that the agency has collected enough evidence against him and he was also trying to influence some of the witnesses in the case. He has been arraigned as the fourth accused in a money-laundering case related to the alleged drug trade.
The ED said his bail will weaken the ongoing investigation and requested the apex court to cancel his bail immediately. Interestingly, the central agency is appealing against the HC order after five months.
Bineesh Kodiyeri was arrested in connection with the money-laundering case related to the drug haul on October 29, 2020. The case surfaced in August 2020 after the arrest of Anoop Mohammad and two others in Bengaluru by the Narcotics Control Bureau. Mohammad later told the NCB that Bineesh Kodiyeri was his business partner and he invested heavily in the trade.
Later, the ED took over the case and Bineesh was arrested and charged under Section 19 (1) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
The ED said he pumped in unaccounted money into the bank account of the alleged drug peddler and took heavy returns from it.
But Bineesh maintained that he helped Mohammad to open a restaurant and he was not aware of his narcotic background. He also said he was implicated in the case by the central agency to target his father, who is CPI(M) state secretary and politburo member.
A small-time actor and cricket player, Bineesh Kodiyeri, has often been surrounded by controversy; but he managed to get away due to his high connections. He was also close to many actors and businessmen. After his arrest, his father was forced to resign from the secretary’s post and returned to the post only after his release on bail.
