Recent Multi-crore Fraud In Kerala: A 26-Year-Old Fraudster On The Rise

Pragya Pathak

Author

Updated: 16-04-2025 at 12:38 PM

Non-Government Organisations (NGOs) are one of the most significant parts of our economy. The entire reason behind their existence is to help people from the underprivileged sections of society by working on and introducing various schemes to help them improve the overall quality of their lives. It is different from the usual profit-based businesses as people put their trust in NGOs and hope for the better.

Hence, it is one of the most important duties of the NGOs to protect that trust and hope. Recently, this sacred trust has been broken by a 26-year-old man in Kerala who defrauded people with an appealing offer of providing scooters and laptops at half price.

Read the news article to know the particulars of the committed scam, the degree of impact and damage it inflicted on people, and the whereabouts of the fraudster.

What Was the Fraudulent Scheme?

In the year 2022, the National NGO Confederation was established in the state of Kerala with the collaboration of around 170 local NGOs. The main aim of the NGO Confederation was to collect Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funds from companies to cover the expenses of various schemes.

Recently, a 26-year-old man, Ananthu Krishna claiming to be the National Coordinator of the National NGO Confederation released an appealing scheme wherein people were offered scooters and laptops at half prices like scooters worth Rs. 1.20 lakh at Rs. 60,000 and laptops worth Rs. 60,000 at Rs. 30,000. The other half was promised to be covered by the CSR fund collected by the NGO Confederation. He also offered the same scheme for home appliances.

Interested individuals were requested to pay a registration fee of Rs. 500 and the half amount of the desired product. Some of the early applicants successfully got scooters and laptops. However, this was only done to gain the trust of people.

Soon after, people who applied for the scheme started complaining about not receiving the promised products. To resolve this, Ananthu Krishna returned the money of several applicants but the number of complainants soon started to mount up which led to police action. Krishna was later arrested by the Ernakulam Rural Police.

According to police sources, Krishna has allegedly taken around 60 crore from 30,000 applicants and deposited the same in around two dozen bank accounts. The estimated amount is around 400-500 crore. Many reputed people have been accused of this scam such as a High Court judge and the Executive Director of an established NGO.

How Did He Carry Out The Scam?

In 2022, Krishna established the NGO Confederation in which 170 NGOs were enrolled. Some of the enrolled NGOs were actually in his name registered in different parts of the state. The confederation organised various activities and invited local politicians and social workers to appear legitimate.

IUML Legislator, Najeeb Kanthapuram runs the NGO Mudra Charitable Foundation and was a part of the scooters and laptops at half price scheme. Now, Kanthapuram is also under the radar of the police but is claiming that he is also a victim.

Who Is Ananthu Krishna?

Ananthu Krishna is from a region called Kudayathoor in the Idukki district in the state of Kerala. He is a graduate and after his studies, he established multiple NGOs in the village. He appeared successful as he purchased land and expensive cars but the reality was far from this.

How To Stay Safe From Such Scams?

If you ever come across such schemes offered by Non-Government Organisations or any other organisation for that matter, please ensure that you take the following precautionary measures to stay safe against any type of scam:

Verify the particulars of the scheme you’re interested in by reading each and every mentioned point.
Check the legitimacy of organisations and companies.
Cross-check the licences and registration details of the organisation or company.
Avoid paying the whole amount altogether without being sure.

Conclusion

The multi-crore fraud organised by Ananthu Krishna is like an awakening call for not only the nation but people worldwide. We clearly still have to go a long way in establishing security, verification, and protective measures against such fraudulent activities.

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