Film production company Lyca alleges money swindling charges against former consultant

CHENNAI: Lyca Productions, a movie production company, has lodged a complaint against its former consultant K Karunamoorthy for swindling several crores of rupees belonging to the firm. The charges shall be confirmed only after conducting a detailed investigation.
In its petition submitted by Neelakant Narayanpur to the Chennai police commissionerate on Thursday, the firm alleged that Karunamoorthy, who headed its India operations since 2013, had sold the theatrical rights of its maiden film -- Vijay-starrer “Kaththi” --- through his Ayangaran International Films Pvt Ltd and paid a paltry sum to Lyca.
"Similarly, the overseas rights of ‘Enaku Innoru Per Iruku’ and ‘Yaman’ were sold by Ayangaran Films for Rs 95 crore, while Lyca Productions was paid only Rs 5 crore," said the petition.
The petitioner also alleged that Karunamoorthy stayed in a suite room at Hotel Leela Palace at a cost of Rs 42.20 lakh and spent at least Rs. 1.26 crore for his foreign trips and used a forex top-up card.
According the petition, Karunamoorthy decided to produce Simbu starrer “Vantha Rajavathaan Varuven” and upcoming Kamal Haasan's film “Indian-2” without the consent of Lyca Productions which incurred a huge loss to the firm.
It said Karunamoorthy had given Rs 25 crore of Lyca Productions to a construction company, though it has nothing to do with them. The petition has also alleged the involvement of Banu, an assistant of Karunamoorthy, and sought action against both of them.
The petition has been forwarded to the central crime branch (CCB) for further investigation.