The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has summoned UAE-based businessman MA Yusuf Ali for recording his statement, in connection with the LIFE Mission case. Yusuf Ali is a noted businessman and is known for his chain of shopping malls - Lulu mall. He has been asked to appear at the Kochi office of ED on March 16, Thursday, in relation to a Rs 300 crore transaction between Kerala's LIFE Mission Project and some private companies in UAE.
The notice has been served a few days after the prime accused in the Kerala gold smuggling and LIFE Mission cases, Swapna Suresh, came on Facebook Live and alleged that she was offered a large sum of money, purportedly on behalf of the state's ruling Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)) to hand over all the evidence she has and relocate to north India or abroad.
In the live, she also named Yusuf Ali and said, “I was also told that UAE-settled billionaire Malayali businessmen MA Yusuf Ali and Ravi Pillai have also been served a notice to appear before the Enforcement Directorate." She alleged that Ravi Pillai threatened her that since Yusuff Ali is a hugely influential person and has shares in a few airports in Kerala, she might be trapped by placing contraband in her luggage if she does not comply.
The LIFE Mission case involves the alleged violation of foreign contribution regulations in the Kerala government's flagship project, which intended to provide homes to the poor who lost their houses in the devastating floods of 2018. The case surfaced after the gold smuggling case came to light in June 2020 in which Sivasankar was jailed. Both Swapna Suresh and Sarith, employed in the UAE Consulate, were later found to have a role in Life Mission funds misappropriation too.