ED ED attaches asset of former IUML MLA's wife in Kerala

A residential property of the wife of IUML leader and former Kerala MLA K M Shaji worth Rs 25 lakh has been attached under the anti-money laundering law, the Enforcement Directorate said on Tuesday. An order has been issued under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) to provisionally attach the immovable property of Asha Shaji located at Vengeri village, Kakkodi in Kozhikode district of the state.

The criminal case of money laundering against the former MLA is based on an April, 2020 FIR of the Kannur-based anti-corruption bureau (ACB).

''According to the FIR (of ACB), K M Shaji accepted a bribe of Rs 25 lakh in 2016 from a teacher, on behalf of the school management, wherein the teacher was later appointed as permanent teacher in a school located at Azhikode,'' the ED said in a statement.

A ''substantial part of the proceeds of crime generated through the above mentioned criminal activity was utilised for the construction of the above mentioned residential building in the name of Asha Shaji during the year 2016,'' it said.

Shaji is a leader of the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) and a former MLA from the Azhikode assembly seat in Kannur district. PTI NES SRY