Police arrest two for Southern Green Farming financial fraud

Thiruvananthapuram: Museum police on Sunday arrested two people for the financial fraud surrounding Southern Green Farming and Marketing Multi-State Co-operative Society Ltd.

Police identified the arrested persons as Thrissur natives Rajesh Chandran Pillai, 47, who is the chairman of the society, and Akhil Francis, 42, managing director. Police arrested them from an apartment in Ernakulam, where they were hiding after the financial fraud came to light.

According to police, the accused offered 12.5% interest to lure people into the fraud. However, the depositors did not receive any interest and the society also rejected their request to return the deposits. The accused used the defrauded amount for their media business and also in real estate, police said.

The arrested people were remanded after being produced before a court on charges under IPC sections 406 for criminal breach of trust and 420 for cheating. Police have also intensified the search for board members Dhanya, Shiny, Princy Francis and Mahavishnu, who are also accused in the case.

"The arrested people will be taken into police custody for a detailed probe and for evidence collection," said police.

The accused were running an office of the society at Sasthamangalam and they even recruited agents to lure people into the fraud, police said. The accused promoted their brand by hiring celebrities as brand ambassadors and it helped attract more people into their trap, police said.