Kerala ex-official Sivasankar was aware of gold smuggling: ED

According to the statement of Swapna Suresh, a key accused in the gold smuggling case discloses that M Shivasankar and a few others in the Chief Minister’s office were aware of the smuggling. This has been mentioned in the ED report which was submitted in the Court seeking to extend M Shivasankar’s custody period as further interrogation is required.

Ernakulam (Kerala): M Sivasankar, the former principal secretary who was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with a money laundering case was aware of the Kerala gold smuggling, said Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials.

According to the statement of Swapna Suresh, a key accused in the gold smuggling case discloses that M Sivasankar and a few others in the Chief Minister’s office were aware of the smuggling. This has been mentioned in the ED report which was submitted in the Court seeking to extend M Sivasankar’s custody period as further interrogation is required.

Sivasankar allegedly knew about the scams in Life Mission projects and KFON. He knew about the ‘commission’ Swapna got from Unitac and also about the money Khalid a staff with the UAE Consulate, Thiruvananthapuram had received.

The ED has expressed its willingness to present more evidence against Shivasankar in a sealed envelope before the Court.

As sought by the ED, the court has extended Shivasankar’s custody period for one more day. Meanwhile, Rs 1 Crore handed over to Swapna by Khalid, an accountant with the UAE Consulate, for the commission to be given to Sivashankar, the ED informed the Court.