ED freezes Rs 143-crore assets of Manappuram Finance MD & CEO after raids

The Enforcement Directorate on Thursday said it has frozen assets worth Rs 143 crore of prominent Kerala-based NBFC Manappuram Finance Ltd's MD and CEO V P Nandakumar after it conducted raids as part of a money laundering investigation.

A total of six premises in Thrissur, where the company is headquartered, were covered during the searches that were launched on Wednesday.

The case pertains to allegations of money laundering through "illegal" collection of deposits from the public, the agency said in a statement.

During the course of searches, the ED said, it was found that the proceeds of crime have been "diverted and invested" by V P Nandakumar into immovable properties in his name, in the name of his spouse and children and into the shares of Manappuram Finance Ltd.

"Hence, ED has freezed the assets of V P Nandakumar under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), totalling Rs 143 crore," it said.

The frozen assets include deposits kept in eight bank accounts, investment i