Rs 1.5 crore cash seized in raid on Empuraan producer's chit fund office, claims FEMA violation

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) revealed that it has seized Rs 1.5 crore in cash during searches on April 4 carried out at multiple offices of Sri Gopalan Chit and Finance Company Limited (Gokul Chit Fund) in Tamil Nadu and Kerala. The company (Gokulam Gopalan) belonging to entrepreneur AM Gopalan is one of the producers of the upcoming Malayalam film L2: Empuraan.

The searches are part of a continuing investigation into suspected foreign exchange violations of Rs 1000 crore under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA). The federal agency stated in a release that the searches ongoing since Friday concluded on Saturday. The ED stated that the action was launched against the residential and business offices of Sri Gokulam Chits and Finance Company Pvt Ltd in one place in Kozhikode in Kerala and two in Chennai in Tamil Nadu under the Foreign Exchange Management Act.

It said that during the search, Rs 1.50 crore in cash and incriminating documents in violation of FEMA were seized. There was no immediate reaction from Gopalan or his company to the ED's allegations. The ED raids come amid the recent controversy over the second installment of the "Lucifer" series, 'L2: Empuraan'.

Considered to be one of the most expensive films in Malayalam cinema, 'L2: Empuraan' was released on March 27 and soon became a subject of heated debate due to criticism of right-wing politics and cryptic mention of the 2002 Gujarat riots. The other producers of the film are Antony Perumbavoor and Subaskaran under the banners of Ashirvad Cinemas and Lyca Productions. According to Perumbavoor, more than two minutes of scenes were deleted from the film following the controversy.