Kerala Police in India have booked Subhash George Manuel, the co-producer of the Malayalam-language film Patriot and the owner of the Kochi Blue Tigers cricket franchise, in a cryptocurrency fraud case involving alleged losses of about ₹99 lakh, or about $110,000 to $120,000 at prevailing rupee rates.
The case was filed at Karukachal police station in Kottayam district on the basis of a complaint by United Kingdom (UK)-based Malayalis, who say they were misled into buying a proprietary crypto token and using a companion mobile application. He has publicly denied the allegations, and no arrest has been reported so far.
FIR at Karukachal, first reported by Malayalam press
The First Information Report (FIR) was first reported by Malayalam-language broadcaster Asianet News on 30 August 2026, with English-language coverage carried the same day by Times Now at 12:34 India Standard Time (IST). The story was later picked up by The Times of India (ToI) on 4 September 2026, which again attributed its reporting to Asianet News.
As of 5 September 2026, Kerala Police have not put out a formal press note, a public FIR document, a crime number, or a charge sheet on the department website, and the account so far rests on this first wave of media coverage.
What the complaint alleges
According to the report, complainants say Subhash George Manuel began the business as a cashback venture and later moved into cryptocurrency, promoting an in-house token described in the Malayalam coverage as “CCRB” alongside a mobile application called “TechBank”. Investors were promised high returns and, according to the same report, apartments in Kochi and Thailand at various stages.
The complaint says the model was built on a referral, or “money chain” structure, in which existing investors brought in new participants across countries, and that payouts stopped at a later stage. Thirteen Malayalis are said to have jointly filed complaints in Kerala and in the UK.
The token’s ticker symbol, blockchain, smart contract address, and app-store listing have not been disclosed in any of the reports so far. That means the asset cannot yet be independently verified as a listed coin, an in-application token, or an off-chain instrument, and on-chain tracing, exchange Know-Your-Customer (KYC) requests, and app-store takedown analysis cannot begin in a public and verifiable manner.
Wider ₹100 crore allegation and the UK angle
The Times Now report says the ₹99 lakh FIR at Karukachal sits inside a broader set of allegations that go back to 2014, with people in multiple countries claiming a combined loss of about ₹100 crore (~$11-$12 million). Those wider claims are described as allegations under examination, and not as a separately quantified case with its own crime number or attachment order.
The report also says a portion of the alleged financial activity was run from the United Kingdom (UK), and that some complainants have approached the Metropolitan Police in London. No Metropolitan Police case number or public statement from the British authorities has been cited in the Indian reporting. Kerala investigators are said to be tracing both the source of the funds named in the local complaint and how the money was subsequently used.
This is not the first time the matter has surfaced in court; an earlier report by Manorama Online on 22 May 2026 said the Kottayam Sessions Court granted him anticipatory bail with strict conditions to cooperate with the investigation, after directing him to appear at the police station in a multi-crore cryptocurrency fraud case.
Film and cricket franchise funding under review
According to The Times of India, investigators are also examining whether any part of the alleged proceeds was used to acquire or fund the Kochi Blue Tigers franchise in the Kerala Cricket League (KCL), or to finance production of Patriot, the Mahesh Narayanan film that stars Mammootty and Mohanlal. The paper describes this as a line of inquiry in press reports, and not as a completed forensic finding.
Subhash George Manuel is publicly linked with the Blue Tigers franchise. In an interview with Malayala Manorama on 30 August 2026, former West Indies captain Chris Gayle said his own co-ownership stake in the side followed from his friendship with “Kochi team owner Subhash George Manuel”. A separate entertainment item in the ToI package noted a press-meet comment about actor Suresh Gopi being considered earlier for a cameo later played by Mohanlal in Patriot, a casting remark that is unrelated to the fraud allegations.
Enigmatic Smile removes him from director post
Mumbai-headquartered firm Enigmatic Smile, on which Subhash George Manuel held a directorship, has moved to distance itself. In a report published on 2 September 2026, the company said it has removed him from the director’s post and clarified that it has no link to the cryptocurrency activity in question.
The Kerala Cricket Association (KCA), the Kerala Cricket League (KCL) management, and the Patriot film production have not issued public statements on the FIR as of 5 September 2026.
What has not been established
At the time of publication, no arrest has been confirmed in any of the published reports; Asianet News says Subhash George Manuel appeared before police in connection with the Karukachal FIR and obtained bail. No Enforcement Directorate (ED) press release naming him under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, in this Kerala or UK matter has been identified.
Separate ED cases against a “Subhash Sharma” of Himachal Pradesh and Punjab, first raided in December 2025 in a ₹2,300 crore Korvio Coin (KRO) matter, involve a different person and a different investigation.
No token contract address, exchange listing, mobile-application store link, or on-chain transaction identifier has been named in the public reporting. Subhash George Manuel has denied the allegations, per Asianet News, and guilt has not been determined by a court.
Why it matters for the crypto sector
If the complaint is upheld, the structure described in the coverage, a proprietary token paired with a mobile application, marketed to a diaspora community with cross-border collection of funds and later disputes over withdrawals, mirrors patterns Indian authorities have flagged in earlier matters.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has repeatedly moved against similar setups, including the ₹500 crore Korvio Coin (KRO) Ponzi probe in July 2026, the ₹303 crore transnational cyber fraud syndicate whose crypto trail ran to Dubai, and the ₹113 crore Money Trade Coin (MTC) matter that opened in August. ED Director Rahul Navin has publicly identified crypto-linked fraud as a priority area for the agency.
Any pooling scheme, if proved, could also attract scrutiny under the Banning of Unregulated Deposit Schemes Act (BUDS), 2019, in addition to cheating and criminal breach of trust provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Information Technology (IT) Act, 2000. Until Kerala Police name the asset, publish the FIR, or share investigation details, the case remains at the “booked and under probe” stage, and further reporting will depend on the state police or the ED putting documents on record.
Crypto Times has followed only what has been reported by the outlets cited above. All claims remain allegations at this stage. Subhash George Manuel has denied the allegations, as per these reports. The story will be updated as fresh official documentation becomes available.
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