In the case of the collection of illegitimate deposits from the public totalling Rs. 240 Crore, the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) has temporarily attached assets worth Rs. 23.75 crores that belong to Venugopal S, the owner of M/s Kechery Enterprises and the MD of other Kechery group business entities, as well as Smt. Bindhu Venugopal S. Included in the connected assets’ total value of Rs. 23.75 crores are mobile assets at Rs. 14.52 crore and immovable assets worth Rs. 9.23 crore.
An investigation by the ED has shown that the accused promised high returns, ranging from 15% to 18% annually when accepting deposits from the general public. He also assured them that M/s Kechery Enterprises had the recognition of the RBI that the investments were secured, with the option to withdraw the money at any time, and that his business entity had received all necessary approvals from the State Government and the Central Government. Over 1000 people were eventually defrauded in Kerala, which prompted the Kerala Police to file FIRs against the suspects.
The investigation also showed that Venugopal S had used the public funds collected by M/s K-Chery Chits Pvt. Ltd. in concert with his key employees to divert the funds to his other business entities without justification and to purchase land on which to erect buildings in his name.
The accused Venugopal S, owner of M/s Kechery Enterprises and MD of various corporate companies belonging to the Kechery group, was previously detained by the ED and is currently in judicial custody. The probe is being expanded upon.
