CAG report on KIIFB half of a bigger conspiracy: Kerala Finance minister TM Thomas Issac

By Express News Service
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Comptroller and Audit General (CAG) has ulterior motives to destroy KIIFB, Finance Minister TM Thomas Issac has alleged. Speaking within the meeting on Wednesday, Isaac stated the CAG didn’t discover any irregularities throughout its eight periodical audits within the final 4 years.

“Nobody has ever raised any graft allegations since the inception of KIIFB in 1999. Only the final report, that  came in 2019, shows irregularities. The final report was prepared with malicious intention and it is part of a larger conspiracy to malign the economic stability of the state,” Issac stated through the query hour within the final meeting session of 14th Kerala Legislative Assembly. 

Earlier, Thomas Isaac had vehemently argued that the CAG had incorrectly blamed the state’s infrastructure financing physique – the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB) – for having a borrowing mannequin that was termed as “unconstitutional” by CAG. 

In its report the CAG has talked about within the report that “KIIFB has taken foreign loans violating the Indian Constitution Article 293 (1)”. In 2019, KIIFB had taken Rs 2150 crore Masala Bond from London Stock Exchange at an rate of interest of 9.723 p.c.