Calls and text messages to Gopalan did not elicit any response. (Express File)
Investigations by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) into alleged irregularities in the functioning of the chit fund company owned by Gokulam Gopalan, the producer of Malayalam film ‘L2: Empuraan’, has revealed that the company had received Rs 372 crore in cash from NRIs for its chit fund subscription and paid Rs 7 crore in cash to its NRI subscribers in violation of RBI regulations.
The ED is probing Gopalan’s company, M/s Sree Gokulam Chits and Finance Co Pvt Ltd, for alleged violations of provisions of the Foreign Exchange management Act (FEMA). Gopalan was on Monday questioned by the ED at its Kochi office in connection with the case. Sources said during questioning Gopalan admitted that no permission was taken by his company from the Registrar of Chitsor an officer authorised from the state government to collect subscriptions from NRIs.
Confronted with other alleged irregularities detected by the ED, Gopalan during questioning is learnt to have sought more time from the agency to verify details.
According to ED probe details accessed by The Indian Express, around 15,000 NRIs or their family members had subscribed to the chit fund schemes of the company from 2002 onwards and the total amount paid by them was around Rs 371.80 crore in cash. Further, Rs 220.74 crore was collected in cheques towards the subscription to chit funds from the NRIs, the ED has said. However, before June 11, 2015, NRIs were not permitted to subscribe to the chit funds in India. According to the ED, by way of Circular No. 107 dated June 11, 2015 issued by the RBI, NRIs were allowed to subscribe to the chit funds on non-repatriation basis.
“The circular, however, specifically mandates that the chit fund company should get approval from the Registrar of Chits or an officer authorised by the state government to accept subscription from non-resident Indians on non-repatriation basis,” a senior ED official said.
Before questioning Gopalan, the ED had also recorded the statement of Janakiraman R, chief information officer of Gokulam Chits. Sources said Janakiraman too had stated that the company had never taken permission from the Registrar of Chits or an officer authorised by the state government to collect subscriptions from the NRIs.
On Friday, the ED had raided premises associated with Gokulam Chits and Gopalan. The ED action came days after Mohanlal-starrer ‘L2:Empuraan’ courted controversy for references to 2002 Gujarat riots. Right-wing groups, including sections of the RSS, accused the film of vilifying Hindus by depicting scenes from the 2002 Gujarat riots and using the names of individuals involved in cases related to the riots.
The backlash prompted producers to mute certain dialogues and remove a few scenes. This voluntary censorship involved the deletion of 2.08 minutes from the film. Calls and text messages to Gopalan did not elicit any response.