ED Raids Manappuram Finance Premises, Freezes Assets Worth Rs 143 Crore

The Enforcement Directorate has conducted searches at six premises of Manappuram Finance Ltd. and Managing Director VP Nandakumar in Kerala.

The searches were conducted on the basis of allegations of money laundering from illegal collection of deposits from the public, the ED said in a Twitter post on Thursday.

The anti-money laundering agency froze assets worth Rs 143 crore, including bank balance and shares. It has seized "incriminating documents", it said.

In an exchange filing, Manappuram Finance said it is cooperating with the ED's investigating team by providing the required details sought by them.

"This is mainly with reference to the deposits accepted by Manappuram Agro Farms, an erstwhile sole proprietor of the concern of the promoter, prior to 2012," the Kerala-based non-banking financial institution said.

They were subsequently repaid, except for the deposit of Rs 9.25 lakh, which could not be repaid by them despite "continuous efforts", it said.