The Enforcement Directorate (ED) raided the homes and offices of Gokulam Gopalan, producer of the Malayalam film ‘Empuraan’, recovering ₹1.5 crore in cash and key documents. The raids took place in Kerala’s Kozhikode and Tamil Nadu’s Chennai.
The operation started on April 4 and ended on April 5, just a week after the film’s release. ‘Empuraan’ stirred public discussion with its anti-communal message and reference to the Godhra riots.
Actor Mohanlal, lead star of the film, quickly apologized if the film hurt any community’s sentiments. But officials say the ED action wasn’t about the movie—it was financial.
ED claims Gopalan’s company, Sree Gokulam Chits and Finance, was collecting money from people living outside India, without proper approval. Much of it was cash, violating rules set by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
Investigators revealed the company collected over ₹370 crore in cash and over ₹220 crore via cheque from foreign residents. Worse, some of these funds were paid back in cash—again, against the law.
The ED says this breaks both FEMA 1999 and RBI guidelines, and the investigation is still ongoing. More updates are expected as officials dig deeper into the company’s financial conduct.