The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Saturday moved the Supreme Court with a plea to cancel the bail of Bineesh Kodiyeri, son of Kerala CPI (M) secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, saying it has strong evidence against him in a money-laundering case related to a drug seizure in Bengaluru about 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 evidences against him and he was also trying to influence some of the witnesses in the case. He has been marked as the fourth accused in a money- laundering case related to an alleged drug trade.
The ED said his bail will weaken the ongoing investigation and requested the 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 a money- laundering case related to a drug haul on October 29, 2020. The case surfaced in August 2020 after the arrest of one 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 had 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 for money into the bank account of an alleged drug peddler and took hefty 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, CPI (M) state secretary and Politburo member.
{{/usCountry}}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 for money into the bank account of an alleged drug peddler and took hefty 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, CPI (M) state secretary and Politburo member.
{{/usCountry}}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 son’s release on bail.