Kochi, March 11 (NationPress) The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has provisionally attached assets totaling approximately Rs 1.44 crore linked to the misappropriation of funds belonging to the United Nurses Association (UNA) in Kerala, as stated in an official announcement on Wednesday.

The action was executed by the ED’s Cochin Zonal Office on March 9, in accordance with the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, concerning a case involving Jasminsha M, the former national and international president of the United Nurses Association.

The ED's investigation was initiated following an FIR lodged by the Crime Branch Police Station in Thrissur, citing various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Subsequently, a charge sheet was presented before the Chief Judicial Magistrate Court in Thrissur against Jasminsha, his spouse Shabna M.A., and numerous other office-bearers of the organization, including Shoby Joseph, Nidhin Mohan, Jithu P.D., Sujanapal A.K., Bibin N. Paul, and Sudheep M.V.

They face allegations of offenses including criminal conspiracy, cheating, criminal breach of trust, forgery, and destruction of evidence.

The ED’s inquiry unveiled that during his term as national president of the United Nurses Association in Thrissur from 2017 to 2019, Jasminsha conspired with his wife and fellow office-bearers to misappropriate membership fees and organizational funds.

The investigation revealed that funds were misdirected through cash withdrawals, inter-account transfers, and routing into personal bank accounts, violating the association’s bylaws. The misappropriated funds were allegedly laundered and utilized for personal purposes, including payments for vehicles, an apartment, and other private expenses.

Moreover, investigators discovered that falsified minutes from committee meetings were created to disguise these transactions as legitimate organizational expenses.

The ED has identified proceeds of crime amounting to roughly Rs 1.44 crore. Given that a significant portion of the funds had been withdrawn in cash, funneled through intermediaries, concealed, or already expended, the agency has provisionally attached properties equivalent in value.

The seized assets comprise five immovable properties and four fixed deposits or movable assets totaling approximately Rs 1.44 crore held in the names of Jasminsha, Shabna M.A., Bibin N. Paul, and Shoby Joseph.

These assets include land parcels and a residential flat situated in the districts of Malappuram, Palakkad, Thrissur, and Idukki, along with fixed deposits.

The ED has indicated that further investigations concerning the case are ongoing.