Plea In Kerala High Court Seeks Probe Into 'Looting Of Crores Of Public Money' Under Guise Of National Federation Of Tourism & Transport Co-op

A plea has been moved in the Kerala High Court seeking proper and effective investigation under the supervision of the Director General of Police in the case involving the looting of 100 crores of money by a group of persons under the guise of the National Federation of Tourism and Transport Co-operatives of India (NFTCI), which is a multi-cooperative society functioning under the Central Government. 

The petitioner, who is the former Chairperson of NFTCI, avers that a parallel website of NFTCI was started by one Ram Naresh Thakur, who claimed to be the Managing Director of the society and several others claiming to be office bearers of the same. 

The petitioner alleges that the said persons had published fake news to the effect that the petitioner was not the then Chairman of NFTCI and further claimed that they could collect deposits from the public. It is noted that the petitioner's election as Chairman was disputed and an arbitrator had been appointed to the issue.

However, while the petitioner had preferred a writ petition before the Delhi High Court challenging the eligibility of and illegalities by the arbitrator, the latter passed an award terming the petitioner as the 'ex Chairperson'. 

The petitioner further claims that the accused persons had also opened fake bank accounts in the name of NFTCI, and looted huge amounts from the public in cash. 

"It is pertinent to note that all the accused conjointly with a view to defraud the public at large are creating and misusing the name of the society so as to entice the people in depositing the money by guaranteeing huge returns. The said acts not only have roots in Kerala but have also spread across the entire nation and the same is evident from the registration of FIRs against them," the plea states. 

The petitioner states that his representations before various law enforcement agencies were not considered and that the agencies were not initiating any steps to unearth the large-scale misappropriation and cheating committed by the accused persons. 

The petitioner alleges that the said activity is still being illegally carried out by the persons, thereby cheating the public at large. He further claims that the actions of the persons would come within the purview of 'money laundering'.

"The current scenario in the state would reveal that various persons and bogus agencies are cheating the public at large and there are several thousands of crimes registered against them. But, the ones at the edge of the cliff are the public at large who lose their hard-earned money believing such persons and such bogus institutes. Here, if the law enforcement agencies adopt the saying “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure" in its letter and spirit, the public would be saved," the plea adds. 

It is in such circumstances that the plea has been moved seeking the constitution of a special investigation team to conduct a proper and effective investigation of the complaint by the petitioner, and to take necessary and immediate action in the matter. 

The plea has been moved through Advocates Anand Kalyanakrishnan and C. Dheeraj Rajan. 

Case Title: V.V. Pankajakshan Nair v. Union of India & Ors. 

Case Number: W.P. (Crl.) No. 1272/ 2023