Kerala Opposition Leader Satheesan Claims Corruption Involving KFC and Bankrupt RCFL
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Thiruvananthapuram, Jan 2 (NationPress) The Leader of the Opposition in Kerala, V.D. Satheesan, on Thursday, made allegations regarding a corrupt arrangement between the state-owned Kerala Financial Corporation (KFC) and the liquidated Reliance Commercial Finance Ltd (RCFL) from 2018.
He asserted that this deal, facilitated by certain KFC officials and other vested interests within the state government, incurred a significant loss of Rs 101 crore to the state.
In a media briefing on Thursday, Satheesan emphasized discrepancies in KFC's annual records for the years 2018-19 and 2019-20, which document a Term Deposit with a Bank and Non-Convertible Debentures (NCD) totaling Rs 60.80 crore.
“The deposit was made with full awareness of the company's financial troubles. Additionally, the company's name was notably missing from KFC’s annual disclosures in 2019 and 2020. It was only in the 2020-21 report that the investment was clearly labeled as ‘Investment in NCD-RCFL’,” Satheesan remarked.
He condemned KFC for deviating from its fundamental role of supporting MSMEs. “KFC should allocate funds according to prudential norms and Board-approved securities, primarily aimed at financing small and medium-sized enterprises. This transaction breached those vital principles,” he stated.
Furthermore, he expounded that KFC's main objective is to offer medium and long-term credit to industrial operations that are not typically handled by commercial banks. “The goal is for State Corporations to focus their efforts on financing medium and small-scale industries and, whenever feasible, address only those cases that lie outside the purview of the Industrial Finance Corporation,” he added.
Satheesan also highlighted that RCFL was declared bankrupt in 2019, and the 2020-21 KFC annual report indicated that Rs 7.09 crore was retrieved after the liquidation.
“We posed queries regarding this transaction during Assembly meetings, yet no responses have been forthcoming even years later,” he noted.
The Opposition leader alleged the involvement of commissions and suggested that more information would come to light once the state government provides the necessary details.
“We are awaiting the government's response. Once we receive their explanation, I will reveal more about this corrupt transaction and those who profited from it,” Satheesan warned.
