‘Foreign exchange violations involving over Rs 1,000 crore’ behind ED raid at Empuraan producer’s premises, officials claim
The Kerala wing of the agency launched the multi-state search operation in Tamil Nadu and Kerala on Friday morning
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Producer Gokulam Gopalan was seen largely distancing himself from the controversy and clarified that a movie with a political message was not his intentionThe Enforcement Directorate raids at the premises of producer Gokulam Gopalan, whose production house backed the Malayalam film L2: Empuraan, which faced criticism for its portrayal of the 2002 Gujarat riots, are linked to its probe into alleged foreign exchange violations involving over Rs 1,000 crore, agency sources claim.
The Kerala wing of the ED launched a multi-state search operation in Tamil Nadu and Kerala on Friday against the businessman and film producer.
According to ED, the searches are “in (connection with) a FEMA (Foreign Exchange Management Act) case involving Gopalan and his company Sree Gokulam Chit and Finance Co Ltd”.
“Currently, five premises are covered (under the raids). The case relates to alleged violations of various FEMA provisions worth Rs 1,000 crore with NRIs and other unauthorised transactions. The ED is also verifying alleged cheating and forgery cases registered against the company under PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act),” ED sources claimed.
The searches began Friday morning, with at least 10 personnel arriving at the offices of Sree Gokulam Chit and Finance in Chennai’s Kodambakkam area. Another team landed at Gopalan’s farmhouse at Neelankarai in Chennai city.
The ED action comes just days after the release of Mohanlal-starrer Empuraan, which was co-produced by Gopalan along with Antony Perumbavoor, Mohanlal’s close aide, and Lyca Productions’ Subaskaran Allirajah. Gopalan was a late entrant into the production, at a time when the film’s release was delayed over financial troubles faced by Lyca Productions.
The film, a sequel to the 2019 blockbuster Lucifer and part of a trilogy directed by Prithviraj Sukumaran, sparked controversy soon after its March 27 release. 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 the producers to mute certain dialogues and remove scenes. This voluntary censorship involved about 24 cuts or a deletion of 2.08 minutes.
Gopalan was seen largely distancing himself from the controversy and clarified that a movie with a political message was not his intention. Mohanlal also issued an apology and said that the contentious content had been removed.
Gopalan, a Kerala-origin businessman with interests in hospitality, healthcare, education, media, cinema, logistics, and transport, and his company, Sree Gokulam Group, are widely known across South India, with its flagship chit fund operations servicing thousands of customers in India and abroad.
Gopalan was unavailable for comment on the ED action.
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