Kochi: The Enforcement Directorate on Tuesday questioned former Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) administrative officer Murari Babu in connection with the Sabarimala gold “loss” linked money laundering investigation in Kerala, officials said.
The agency recorded Babu’s statement under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), they said.
The official was arrested by the Kerala special investigation team (SIT) as part of this probe and was recently granted bail by a court.
The agency has also recorded the statement of another ex-TDB administrative officer, S Sreekumar, sometime back as part of this investigation.
Searches were undertaken by the ED in this case last month.
The ED had said in a statement issued on January 21 that it had frozen 8 immovable assets worth Rs 1.3 crore of “prime” accused Unnikrishnan Potti and seized a 100-gram gold bar from the premises of an entity named Smart Creations in Chennai during the searches.
It filed a PMLA case on January 9, taking cognisance of two Kerala police FIRs. The politically sensitive case is already being investigated by a state SIT under the supervision of the Kerala High Court.
The probe is related to a series of alleged irregularities, including official misconduct, administrative lapses and a criminal conspiracy, to misappropriate the gold from the various artefacts of the Lord Ayyappa shrine.
Probe found, the ED statement said, that sacred gold-clad artefacts of the temple, including Dwarapalaka idol components, peedams (pedestals) and sanctum sanctorum door frame panels, were deliberately misrepresented in official records as mere “copper plates” and unauthorisedly removed from the temple premises during 2019-2025.
These artefacts were subsequently transported to private facilities in Chennai and Karnataka, including Smart Creations and Roddam Jewellers, where gold was extracted through chemical processes under the guise of repair and replating work, the agency found.
“The extracted gold and related assets constitute proceeds of crime, which were retained, transferred and concealed by the accused persons,” it said.
The investigation has also brought to light indications of other financial irregularities and “scams” at Sabarimala Temple, including misappropriation related to temple offerings and rituals, the agency had claimed.
