On Wednesday, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) filed a charge-sheet toward three key defendants in the Kerala gold trafficking case, while one of them, Swapna Suresh, alleged that Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan was aware of her appointment in the Space Park.
She said that former CM Secretary M Sivashankar had asked her to request for the role and later told her that he would discuss it with the CM and ensure her appointment.
She also told the agency that a number of times she had met the CM and that she was also next to his assistant, the charge-sheet claimed.
In the interim charge-sheet, the ED also made it clear that a thorough investigation against Sivashankar was required and its staff was in the process of gathering more digital evidence.
A supplementary charge-sheet will be submitted later, it said. The CM allegedly distanced himself from his secretary after the gold smuggling case emerged, claiming he was not aware of Suresh’s appointment for the main post.
He was later removed from service his secretary, Sivashankar, a senior officer. Opposition parties then claimed that, after sacrificing his secretary, the CM got away easily.
She had applied for the job of Space Park Manager while Swapna Suresh resigned from the United Arab Emirates consulate and she provided Sivashankar’s reference, the charge-sheet said. And, as directed by Sivashankar, she applied for the job through the consulting firm PricewaterCoopers.
The charge-sheet said he had introduced chartered accountant Venugopal Iyer to her. The ED had confiscated two kg of gold and Rs one crore currency from a locker together operated by Suresh and Iyer during the investigation.
Later, it also emerged that some of Suresh’s educational certificates were fraudulent.
The charge-sheet also claimed that Swapna Suresh, Sandeep Nair, and Sarith, the three key victims, were engaged in money laundering and possessed enormous assets, and their source of income was obscure.
In the case registered by the Customs, the ED hurried with the charge-sheet while all three got bail.
Several agencies, including the NIA, are investigating the gold smuggling case.
As they were in detention for more than three months, the latest charge sheet was filed to prohibit the suspects from obtaining bail.
At least 30 persons were arrested in link with the case that emerged after the recovery of 30 kilograms of gold of a consignment entering at the UAE consulate in the state capital, camouflaged as diplomatic baggage.
On Monday, the court had questioned the NIA and sought evidence against the defendant for terrorism charges. This is the first time in a smuggling case that UAPA has been invoked.
