Court extends Bineesh's ED custody till Nov 11

Bengaluru: A Karnataka court on Saturday extended till November 11 the Enforcement Directorate (ED) custody of Bineesh Kodiyeri, son of CPI(M) Kerala secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, in connection with a money laundering case.

Earlier this week, the ED had conducted raids at the residence of Bineesh Kodiyeri that lasted for more than 25 hours in Kerala. The agency had arrested Bineesh Kodiyeri under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act related to the Bengaluru drug case.

The economic offences watchdog had earlier said that Mohammed Anoop, a drug peddler arrested by the ED, had during his custodial interrogation inter-alia admitted that he was indulging in the sale and purchase of narcotics drugs and was closely associated with Bineesh.

"During the course of the investigation, it is revealed that Mohammed Anoop is a benamidar of Bineesh and all his financial dealings were done on the instructions of Bineesh who had paid huge amounts of money to Mohammed Anoop," the ED had said in a statement.

It also said that the probe revealed that Anoop held various bank accounts and indulged in transferring and layering of huge proceeds of crime into several accounts. However, Anoop could not explain these cash and fund transactions and was completely evasive in his replies.

"Fund trail investigation also established that a huge amount of unaccounted funds were being regularly credited in his accounts by Bineesh. These were preceded by large cash deposits in Kerala into the accounts of Bineesh," it added.

The ED has initiated an investigation against Mohammed Anoop and others based on an FIR registered by Narcotics Control Bureau, Bengaluru, registered under various sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985.