The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has provisionally attached eight immovable properties worth ₹67.03 crore, claiming they are beneficially owned and controlled by the banned outfit Popular Front of India (PFI). The assets, according to the agency, were held under the names of various charitable and educational trusts as well as the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI), which it identified as PFI’s political front. The attachment order, issued on November 6, 2025, forms part of the ED’s ongoing investigation under the Prevention of Money-Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, based on multiple FIRs filed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and other state law enforcement agencies.
Investigators allege that PFI leaders and members conspired to raise and channel funds from both domestic and foreign sources to finance unlawful and violent activities. The money, they said, was collected through bank transactions, donations, and hawala routes under the guise of social and relief work. The ED claims that its probe established the SDPI as a political extension of PFI, heavily dependent on the parent organisation for day-to-day functioning, candidate selection, campaign strategies, and cadre mobilisation.
According to the agency, PFI maintained secret financial ledgers and unrecorded accounts that included expenses made for SDPI’s political programmes. It said several of these transactions were deliberately kept out of formal banking records to conceal the flow of money. A significant portion of the funds allegedly originated from Gulf countries, where collections were made under the pretext of charitable and humanitarian causes before being transferred to India through covert channels.
The attached properties, located across Kerala, are registered in the names of trusts and individuals allegedly linked to PFI. These include Green Valley Foundation, Alappuzha Social Cultural and Education Trust, Pandalam Educational and Cultural Trust in Pathanamthitta, Islamic Centre Trust in Wayanad, Haritham Foundation in Malappuram, Periyar Valley Charitable Trust in Aluva, Vallavunad Trust in Palakkad, and land registered in the name of the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) in Trivandrum. Together, they have an estimated value of ₹67.03 crore.
The ED stated that with this latest action, total attachments in the case now stand at ₹129 crore. Earlier, assets worth ₹61.98 crore had been attached through nine separate orders that were later confirmed by the adjudicating authority under the PMLA. So far, the agency has identified proceeds of crime worth ₹131 crore. It has also arrested 28 individuals, including national and state-level office-bearers of PFI and SDPI, as well as physical-education coordinators and trainers accused of imparting combat instruction to members.
The agency’s investigation has revealed that several of the attached properties were allegedly used as training centres and operational hubs. Notably, “Valluvanad House” in Pattambi and “Malabar House” under the Haritham Foundation were reportedly used for physical education (PE) programmes where PFI cadres were given offensive and defensive drills under the guise of fitness training. Documents recovered from these sites include property ledgers, audited expenditure records, and details of PE sessions, which the ED argues point to the preparation of cadres for violent acts.
According to the ED, PFI and SDPI perfected a complex system of money-laundering through forged donation receipts, fake donors, conduit accounts, and illicit transfers from abroad. Funds were often moved through hawala routes, converted into cash, and used for political or organisational expansion while leaving little trace in formal records. The agency claims that the intent was to establish a network capable of subverting democratic institutions and destabilising governance through coordinated propaganda and street-level mobilisation.
The investigation, which remains ongoing, seeks to identify additional properties and individuals connected to PFI’s financial ecosystem. Officials said the findings so far demonstrate how the banned organisation allegedly continued to operate indirectly through a web of trusts, charities, and front entities, maintaining its network despite its proscription under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
