Explained: How A Kerala Conman Ran A Multi-Crore Fraud With His Fake Antiquities Collection

An IAS officer, at least four IPS officers including former Kerala DGP, top Malayalam actors, some of the biggest politicians, and other personalities from the state are among the 'guests' in the photography collection of Monson Mavunkal, seen seated on a throne they were told as belonged to Tipu Sultan.

But in reality, it was a chair made by a local carpenter in Kerala and had no connection whatsoever with the former ruler of Mysore.

Monson Mavunkal

This now 'infamous' throne is among the most famous collecting in a private museum run by Mavunkal who described himself as an antiquity collector.

Antiquates collection

The other items from his collection included the staff of Moses from the Bible¡¯s Old Testament, two of the 30 silver coins which Judas received for betraying Jesus, a jar that stored water that Jesus turned into wine and relics of Christian saints in Kerala and Italy, an earthen lamp made and used by Prophet Muhamad and many more.

Monson Mavunkal

But just like the throne, none of them was real or had any historic value as Mavunkal claimed.

Still, he managed to convince many including the who is who in Kerala about the authenticity of his collection and flaunted photos of them with his collection on his website and social media.

He also used these to defraud people into investing in his ventures, loaning huge amounts to him on the promise of high returns, buying 'antiquities for his collection, etc.

Arrest

But all these ended on September 26, when Mavunkal was arrested by the Crime Branch of the Kerala Police in connection with several cheating cases.

BCCL

He had borrowed money from several people saying that a huge amount that ran into several thousand crores of rupees credited to his account in exchange for selling his antiquities is being withheld by the authorities for Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) violations and wanted some immediate cash to pay the fines.

Following his arrest on Sunday, a raid was conducted at this residence in Cherthala which also housed his so-called antiquities museum.

Who is Monson Mavunkal?

If one goes by his website, the 54-year-old is a Cosmetologist, actor, philanthropist, educationalist, motivational speaker, antiquities dealer, and much more.

Monson Mavunkal

But in reality, he is not even a school graduate, from a small town in the Alapuzha district, who came from a humble family. The man who claimed to have sold antiquities to the Sultan of Brunei and royal families in the Middle East did not even have a passport.

Locals who know Monson from his childhood still don't know what fortune he made and how, before he returned to his hometown like a king a few years ago.

Monson Mavunkal

All they know about him is that Monson had gone 'missing' from his hometown soon after his marriage and came back filthy rich and well connected a few years ago.

He also used to bring several VIPs to his palatial residence, a part of which was converted into a museum to house his 'precious' antiques.

A long list of guests

Among the people who Monson have photos with are former state police chief Loknath Behra, serving additional director general of police Manoj Abraham, State Congress president K Sudhakaran, former Chief Secretary Jiji Thompson, Prashant R Nair IAS, actors Mohanlal, Tovino Thomas, Srinivasan, Kerala ministers Roshi Augustine and Ahammed Devarkovil, Inspector General of Police Lakshman Gugulloth former Deputy Inspector General of Police S Surendran, and many more.

Monson Mavunkal

Following his arrest, most of them have distanced themselves from the fraudster saying that they were invited by Monson to visit his rare collection and that they were not involved in his activities. Congress leader K Sudhakaran said he had met Monson as a Cosmologist for treatment.

The fallout of the arrest

Following his arrest, many more have come forward claiming that they were also duped by Monson.

A rape survivor on Tuesday alleged he had threatened her to withdraw the case.

Speaking to TV channels, she claimed that Mavunkal had asked her to withdraw the rape case filed by her against his family friend, and if she did not, he will release her inappropriate pictures clicked by the friend.

Perhaps the most embarrassed from the whole episode is the Kerala Police.

Since his arrest and the photos of top cops with him going viral, it has also emerged that the Kerala Police knew about Monson's activities for some time and that even some top officials had tried to block the investigation against him.

Antiquities? not really

Following Monson's arrest, a man identified as Santhosh has told local media that most of the 'rare' antiquities in his possession including the shaft of Moses were sold by him and that it did not have any historic value as claimed.

According to Santhosh, most of the items that he had sold to Monson were hardly 50-60 years old, which he had specifically mentioned at the time of the sale. Santhosh alleged that Monson also owes him around Rs 2 crore for the items he had purchased and money he had borrowed.