ED opens money-laundering case in Sabarimala gold theft investigation

The Hindu
The Hindu
4h ago
The Kochi unit of the Directorate of Enforcement registered an ECIR under the PMLA in the Sabarimala gold theft case, which has already led to 12 arrests by a High Court-supervised SIT.
ED opens money-laundering case in Sabarimala gold theft investigation
A What happened
The Kochi unit of the Directorate of Enforcement registered an ECIR under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act in the Sabarimala gold theft case. The case is already under investigation by a special investigation team supervised by the Kerala High Court, and 12 people have been arrested. The State Crime Branch initially registered two cases on alleged theft of gold from the Dwarapalaka idols and the temple’s door frame. The ED is expected to record statements from all accused, including Unnikrishnan Potti.
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Key insights

  • 1

    ED case may expand beyond existing accused: People named in State investigative agency cases may be arraigned in the ED case, and additional names may be added as the investigation progresses.

  • 2

    ED linked alleged temple-gold offences to a scheduled offence under PMLA: The ED petition argued that alleged forgery, misappropriation of temple gold, and suspected laundering constituted offences under IPC Section 467, which is a scheduled offence under PMLA.

Takeaways

The ED has registered a PMLA ECIR in the Sabarimala gold theft case and is expected to proceed with recording statements from the accused while the High Court-supervised SIT investigation continues.

Topics

Investigations Law & Public Safety Crime & Justice Courts

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