The Enforcement Directorate (ED) swooped down on Friday, April 4, 2025, raiding the offices of Kerala-based businessman Gokulam Gopalan, a key producer of the Mohanlal-starrer L2: Empuraan, in a probe tied to alleged foreign exchange violations.

The searches, hitting premises in Chennai and Kochi, unfolded under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), with officials zeroing in on Gopalan’s sprawling chit-fund empire, Sree Gokulam Chits, sources told PTI. The timing—smack in the middle of a right-wing backlash against the film’s release—has tongues wagging about more than just financial foul play.

Gopalan, a titan in South India’s financial and entertainment scenes, helms Sree Gokulam Chits, a juggernaut with 480 branches across Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Telangana, Puducherry, Maharashtra, Delhi, Andhra Pradesh, and Haryana.

Founded in 1968 from a modest Mylapore office, the company’s morphed into a Rs 7,000 crore behemoth under Gopalan’s watch. But this isn’t his first brush with scrutiny. In 2017, Income Tax raids unearthed Rs 1,107 crore in unreported income—bad debts clawed back and interest swept under the rug—hinting at hefty tax dodging over five years. Then, in 2019, his son Byju Gopalan landed in a UAE jail for alleged document forgery, piling on the family’s legal woes.

The ED’s latest move, insiders say, digs into chit-fund cash flows, possibly linked to FEMA breaches worth Rs 1,000 crore, alongside state police cheating cases. Gopalan’s role in L2: Empuraan—a sequel to Lucifer that’s sparked outrage over its jabs at right-wing politics and Gujarat riots references—adds a spicy twist.

Despite Mohanlal’s pledge to cut controversial bits, the film hit theaters amid protests, and now Gopalan’s in the hot seat.