KOCHI: Ending all speculation about the involvement of the chief minister’s office in the smuggling of gold through the diplomatic channel, the Enforcement Directorate on Friday informed the Kerala High Court that the CM’s former principal secretary, M Sivasankar, was a “conspirator” and key accused Swapna Suresh only a “pawn”.The central agency told the court that Sivasankar had contacted the customs officers at the Thiruvananthapuram airport multiple times to release the baggage arriving from the UAE through the diplomatic channel without any scrutiny and interference.
“Because of Sivasankar’s position and status in the CM’s office, he used to call the customs officers concerned at the airport and see to it that the baggage are not checked or sent back by the agency,” the ED submitted while opposing the bureaucrat’s bail plea.The agency said the “highly influential” bureaucrat is one of the conspirators behind the gold smuggling. The ED stated that it has reasons to believe that Swapna was only a pawn and Sivasankar was the main beneficiary of the proceeds of the crime. Investigation is going on in this regard and it is necessary to question Sivasankar in custody, the ED said.
“Swapna was totally under Sivasankar’s control like a trusted person and there were many instances to prove this. Swapna was the face of the entire transaction, but the strings were pulled by Sivasankar,” the ED said. Refuting the allegations, senior advocate P Vijayabhanu, appearing for Sivasankar, submitted that the report filed by the ED before the special court had no mention that he had called the customs officers.
Appearing for the ED, Additional Solicitor General S V Raju submitted that Sivasankar is not cooperating with the investigation and misleading the agency. He submitted that the petitioner is the senior-most civil servant in Kerala and was principal secretary to the CM.
Sivasankar instrumental in clearing LIFE project: ED
“This is a case involving a racket smuggling in huge quantities of gold from the UAE to Kerala and it was concealed and camouflaged as diplomatic baggage. This happened multiple times,” ED submitted.
“There was no reason for Sivasankar to contact customs officers. The persons involved in the crime also obtained a commission for every consignment,” the ED said. During the probe, it was revealed that Sivasankar and Swapna were close to each other and used to have frequent chats on WhatsApp.
She was a lady who did not have `25,000 for her father’s medical emergency. It was given by Sivasankar. Then Swapna was suddenly found with `64 lakh for which a joint locker was opened. He was aware of her dealings. The ASG submitted that Sivasankar had introduced Swapna to his chartered accountant and helped her open a bank locker, from which `64 lakh has now been recovered by the agency. It could be that the proceeds of the crime belong to Sivasankar. His conduct shows he is fully involved.
It’s shocking that the senior-most civil servant is involved in such a serious crime which affects the financial security of the nation,the ASG said. Referring to the Supreme Court decisions in the P Chidambaram case, the ASG contended that in economic offences, the discretion to grant anticipatory bail cannot be exercised.
Sivasankar was also instrumental in clearing the LIFE Mission project for the accused and through it Swapna had obtained a commission of `1.08 crore, said the ED.Opposing the bail in customs case, senior advocate K Ramkumar said the anticipatory bail plea itself was not maintainable. The court will pronounce the verdict on August 28.
The bureaucrat pulled the strings
Sivasankar contacted customs officers to clear the baggage arrived from the UAE at the T’Puram airport through diplomatic channel
He used to say he is calling from the CMO
Swapna was the face of all transactions, but Sivasankar pulled the strings
The gold smuggling racket concealed and camouflaged consignments as diplomatic bags
Swapna, who did not have L25k for treatment of her father initially, later put L64 lakh in bank locker
Sivasankar’s conduct shows he is fully involved
He was the key to clearing the LIFE Mission project, from which Swapna got L1.08 cr as commission