THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In interview to TNIE, Unitac MD says his entire profit in Wadakkanchery LIFE Mission project paid as commission to cement ties with UAE Consulate staff for future contracts
Santosh Eapen, managing director of Unitac Builders, who was arrested by the customs in connection with the reverse hawala case and later released on bail, said the prospects of doing future business with the UAE Consulate had prompted him to pay commission to the consulate staff for the Wadakkanchery LIFE Mission flat project.
His full profit was given away as commission to cement his ties with the consulate officials, he told TNIE.
“It was my first deal with them and I was looking forward to doing more business with them. For that, I had decided to give them `4.5 crore, which was my profit, as commission. Of that, I had paid `3.8 crore to the consulate staff, while the rest was given to a firm owned by Sandeep Nair as liaison charge. People wonder how I could give such a hefty commission. After deducting my profit and the commission, the money that would go into the project would be minimal, they think. But what they did not know is that I had given up my entire profit to pay the commission,” he said.
He said the contract for constructing the flats was between him and the UAE Consulate and since he was not a government servant nor had he given any kickbacks to government staff, the charges of corruption against him will not stand.
Eapen said the construction at Wadakkanchery was carried out without compromising the quality. He said a part of the commission amount was paid to the consulate officials in dollars as insisted by Swapna Suresh and consulate staff Khalid Ali Shoukry. “The cash was paid to the consulate staff in three instalments. Twice, the dollar was arranged by Axis Bank’s Karamana branch, while on one occasion, an Axis Bank staffer of Vyttila branch in Kochi had arranged it from outside,” he said. A total of $1.90 lakh was given to the consulate staff. He said the consulate officials had been into this practice of taking commission in dollars from contractors. Eapen said he had no inkling that the dollar was to be smuggled out of the country. “It never struck me, nor did I know that they were going to do that. I was at the wrong place at the wrong moment,” he said.
“The allegation that I gave an iPhone to Kodiyeri’s wife is wrong. The phone that is under question has been with me since November 30, 2019. I had brought six phones as requested by Swapna for distribution among guests during the UAE National Day celebrations organised by the consulate. She told me to buy five ordinary iPhones and an expensive one for the consul-general. Later, they returned the expensive phone saying that the consul-general wanted a more upgraded version.
“That phone is what some say Kodiyeri’s wife is using. That’s not true. Regarding Chennithala, he was the one who had distributed phones to the guests during the National Day celebrations. I had mentioned this in my writ petition in the High Court. But when it came to the court, the word ‘presented by Chennithala’ in my petition was somehow changed as ‘presented to Chennithala’,” he said.The allegation affected my business so much so that I had to suspend my construction and hospitality businesses, he said.