ED acting on ‘malafide’ FIR related to the 10-yr-old case: Manappuram Finance

VP Nandakumar, the Managing Director and CEO of Manappuram Finance Ltd, has said that the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) visit to the company’s premises was not related to its business affairs. The ED conducted searches at six premises belonging to Manappuram Finance and Nandakumar under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) on allegations of money laundering from illegal collection of deposits from the public. Nandakumar clarified that the ED’s visit was based on a malafide FIR filed by a person with a personal grudge against him and his family. He also stated that the case pertains to a now-defunct company and that the total value of shares attached by the ED is worth approximately Rs 2,000 crore.