Causing further headache to Kerala’s ruling CPI(M) over the financial fraud State party secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan’s son Binoy Balakrishnan had allegedly committed in UAE, a Dubai-based company has served ultimatum on him asking him to settle the issue of the multi-million Dirham loan he had taken through it before February 5 even as Kodiyeri claimed nobody had complained to him about his son.
The lawyer of UAE citizen Hasan Ismaeel Abdulla Almarzooqi, owner of Dubai firm JAAS Tourism llC, through which Binoy had allegedly availed loans aggregating over Rs 7.60 crore for buying a car and expanding ‘businesses’, has reportedly informed the mediators that they would make public the documents and details of the fraud if he fails to settle the issue (by returning the money) by February 5.
The CPI(M) has so far adopted a stand that it, as a party, has nothing to do with the business deal of the son of a Politbureau member, that the matter had originated in a foreign country and has to be settled there and that Binoy himself had clarified that the allegations are baseless but the issue has become a catalyst to the vexed faction war at the level of the top leadership.
Almarzooqi’s lawyer, who has arrived in Kerala, has already held discussions with the mediators. The Dubai-based company’s representatives have also reportedly sought an appointment with Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, another senior Politbureau member, for brining to his attention the details of the fraud allegedly committed by his party colleague’s son.
The company has sought the permission of the Press Club Thiruvananthapuram to hold a Press conference at 4.00 PM on February 5 at which Almarzooqi himself is expected to describe to newsmen the details of the fraud allegedly committed by Kodiyeri’s son if he fails to meet that deadline. Almarzooqi, who was in Delhi last week, is said to have arrived in Kerala. As the Dubai company intensified its efforts to make Binoy repay the money he allegedly owes it, he has reached the UAE city. He has claimed that he had already settled the issues with JAAS Tourism and that no case or complaint was pending against him in Dubai.
last week, he had got a clearance certificate from Dubai Police which could prove his claim of innocence.
“Why is this Arab taking all the trouble here in Kerala while the issue is in DubaiIJ Isn’t he (Binoy) in DubaiIJ Doesn’t Dubai have a legal system and courtsIJ Why can’t the Arab do whatever he wants about this in DubaiIJ” asked Kodiyeri while commenting on the issue on Tuesday. “I haven’t been involved in this matter in any way,” he said.
Rejecting the theory that the issue had affected the party, Kodiyeri said, “This issue is not before the party. The State secretariat of the party has already issued a statement in this regard. We have nothing to say more than that,” he said. Exonerating Binoy totally, the party statement had termed reports about the fraud as fake news propagated as part of a plot against the CPI(M).
The scandal erupted last week with Almarzooqi alleging in a complaint submitted to the CPI(M) leadership that Binoy owed Rs 13 crore to JAAS Tourism. He said Binoy had fled Dubai without repaying AED-3,13,200 loan he had taken for buying a car and another loan of AED 45,00,000 for business deals in India, UAE, Saudi Arabia and Nepal through JAAS’s account.
He had availed these loans using his friendship with Dubai-based Kerala businessman Rakhul Krishnan, who was earlier JAAS’s managing partner. According to Almarzooqi, Binoy’s total liabilities to his company now stood at AED 7 million – which is roughly equivalent to Rs 13 crore – including interest on the loans he had taken and legal charges.
Rejecting the demand for a probe into the scandal, Chief Minister Pinarayi had said last week that the charges against Binoy were baseless and that the Government had not received any complaint in this regard. The BJP has sought a probe by the Enforcement Directorate into the fraud as it suspected involvement of Hawala transactions.
