In a new twist in the controversial Kerala gold smuggling case, the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) has revealed that Swapna Suresh, the second accused in the case, had received money as commission from a builder who bagged a state government housing scheme for the poor, called the Life Mission project. The ED revealed the latest information on Tuesday at the special court for Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) cases in Ernakulam, which was hearing Swapna’s bail petition.
ED special prosecutor TA Unnikrishnan pointed out that Swapna and another person at the UAE consulate had received a commission from Unitac Builders and Developers (based out of Kochi) for helping them bag the contract of the building the apartment complex that is sponsored by a Dubai-based non-government organisation called the Red Crescent. According to reports, Swapna had demanded 6% of the project budget from the builders as commission for the apartment building, under the Life Mission, in Thrissur district’s Wadakkanchery. These apartments were being built for the homeless and landless in Kerala.
The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), signed on July 11, 2019, between the UAE Red Crescent and Kerala government, is for Rs 20 crore. It, however, makes no mention of Unitach or to whom the contract will be awarded. A 6% commission of this would amount to Rs 1.2 crore, although some reports say that the bribe was as high as Rs 4 crore. UAE Red Crescent Authority is part of the International Committee of the Red Cross.
The latest revelation came to light when the National Investigation Agency (NIA) found inconsistencies in the statement given by Swapna about the contents in her locker, where an amount of Rs 1 crore (and 1 kg gold) was retrieved in July. Unitach has given a statement to NIA on the same. While Swapna’s lawyer had earlier said that Swapna received the amount and gold as gift and was accounted for, she later revealed that she received the money as commission for getting the housing project cleared.
In this case, too, the name of Kerala Chief Minister’s former Principal Secretary M Sivasankar has popped up. According to the Times of India, the UAE Consul General had allegedly asked the construction company officials to meet Sivasankar. The Leader of Opposition Ramesh Chennithala also alleged that Sivasankar endorsed Unitach, which was awarded the project under the government scheme.
The ED also said the Swapna jointedly opened the locker with a third person on Sivasankar's direction and deposited the bribe money there.
Following the development, Leader of Opposition in Kerala, Ramesh Chennithala, alleged that the project could not have happened without the knowledge of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan as the latter “directly monitors the Life Mission project”.
Ramesh Chennithala alleged that the Dubai unit of Red Crescent did not inform the Kerala unit about the project and donated the money (Rs 20 crore) directly to the state government without the approval of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). He also demanded the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Kerala government and Red Crescent as proof. “The government has not responded to my demand yet,” he said.
The ED filed an enforcement case, based on the case registered by the NIA, against the four prime suspects in the gold smuggling case — Sarith PS, Swapna, Fazil Fareed and Sandeep Nair. They were arrested on July 22 while in NIA custody. Swapna was questioned by the ED on August 13, when she revealed her connection with Sivasankar.
Santhosh Eapen, the owner of Unitac, told Asianet that Swapna and Sandeep acted as the middlemen in the whole deal. “We went to Thiruvananthapuram and met the officials of UAE Red Crescent via one of our former employees, Yedhu. This man was Sandeep's friend. Due to language constraints, Swapna spoke to the officials in Arabic and managed the whole deal. We have received Rs 14 crore so far, and have been receiving the amount directly from the UAE Consulate’s account in Karamana branch of Axis bank,” he said, adding that he acted only as a contractor and does not have dealings with the gold smuggling case.