ED to probe Kerala conman's antiquities scam

The Enforcement Directorate will file a case against conman Monson Mavungal and probe the fake antiquities scam he was running. He will be booked under the Anti-Money Laundering Act.

Thiruvananthapuram: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) will file a case against Monson Mavungal, the conman who swindled hundreds of people in an antiquities scam.

Mavungal, who was arrested Monday, will be booked for selling antiquities fraudulently under the Anti-Money Laundering Act. The ED officials had gathered information about the case from the Crime Branch Tuesday.

Earlier, the Kerala DGP sent a letter about how Monson swindled people with fake rare and historic antiques, but the ED said that a case could not be registered on the basis of the letter. Moreover, the state intelligence report had explained Monson's modus operandi and also sought a probe into this scam. The report had been handed over to former DGP Lokanath Behera and other senior officials two years ago.

But, the then DGP did not take any action on the intelligence reports and many senior police officials provided assistance to Monson instead.

The conman's website Monsonmavungal.com and his YouTube channel still claim to sell these fake antiquities, at his museum located at Kaloor in Kochi. What has come as shocking is that there were thousands of people who believed this high-profile conman, who used his connections with senior politicians and bureaucrats and IPS officers to lure his victims to the trade.