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- Published: October 7, 2020 22:16
New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has filed a chargesheet bin the high profile Kerala gold smuggling case which brought a lot of heat o Pinarayi Vijayan govt.
The chargesheet was filed in a special Prevention of Money Laundering Court in Kochi against Sarith PS, Swapna Suresh and Sandeep Nair, the three main accused in the case.
In its chargesheet, the ED said that the role of M Sivasankar, former principal secretary to the Kerala Chief Minister’s Office, needs to be thoroughly investigated.
ED said that Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan was aware of Swapna Suresh’s appointment in the Space Park of the Kerala IT department. However, Vijayan during his press meets repeatedly dismissed it.
“She (Swapna Suresh) was selected in Space Park as she was close to M Svasankar. Her appointment with the Space Park was in the knowledge of the Chief Minister of Kerala. She told that Venugopal, Charted Accountant was referred to her by Sivasankar to manage her funds and she trusted Sivasankar,” ED said in the chargesheet.
In its 300 page chargeshee, the agency has named 25 witnesses.
Kerala gold smuggling case, being probed by top notch agencies including National Investigation Agency (NIA), the Enforcement Directorate, and the Customs department, pertains to the smuggling of gold in the state via diplomatic channels.
The erstwhile secret dealings came to public eye after the Customs officials busted a consignment at Thirvananthapuram airport on July 5. About 30 kg gold worth Rs 14.82 crore was being smuggled in a consignment camouflaged as diplomatic baggage.
