Crime Branch to probe Rs 70 cr Mylapra coop bank fraud

Pathanamthitta: Crime Branch will investigate the Rs 70-crore fraud detected at the Mylapra Cooperative Bank here.

Depositors have begun a protest in front of the bank, demanding their money back.

Facing public pressure, CPM’s Mylapra branch secretary Saju Manidas said he would resign from the post. He sent a text message on the party’s official WhatsApp group showing his intention to quit.

In the message, he said his decision to resign was in protest against the party’s decision to protect bank president Eesho Umman, who is also a member of the party area committee. He claimed that the meeting of the local branch committee could not be convened.
Once people came to know about Saju’s plan to resign, there was a scuffle in front of the bank.

The bank had earlier suspended three employees, including the branch secretary, who had come out in open against the alleged fraud.

The cooperative sector in Kerala is facing a vast trust deficit after being rocked by a series of scams like the recent financial frauds involving the Thrissur Karuvannur Co-operative Bank and the Palakkad Kannambra Service Cooperative Bank.

There are over 15,000 cooperative societies in the state, and financial irregularities were reported only in a few of them. However, the sector in total is facing a considerable trust deficit.