The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered a case against KM Abraham, Chief Principal Secretary to Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, over allegations that he amassed wealth disproportionate to his known sources of income.
The move comes after the Kerala High Court, on April 11, directed the CBI to investigate Abraham based on a petition filed by activist Jomon Puthenpurackal. The activist had alleged that Abraham owns an apartment in Mumbai worth Rs 3 crore, a flat in Thycaud, Thiruvananthapuram valued at around Rs 1 crore, and a three-storeyed shopping complex in Kollam estimated at Rs 8 crore. According to Jomon, the EMI for the Mumbai property alone is Rs 84,000, while Abraham’s official monthly salary stands at Rs 80,000. He also alleged that Abraham failed to disclose the source of funds for loans linked to the Thycaud apartment and the Kollam complex.
Abraham, who is also the CEO of the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB), has not publicly responded to the CBI’s move yet. However, on April 16, he had written to Chief Minister Vijayan seeking a police inquiry into what he described as a conspiracy to discredit him.
Earlier, the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) had given Abraham a clean chit, stating that the Mumbai flat was worth Rs 99.75 lakh and the Thycaud apartment valued at only Rs 13.56 lakh. The VACB also said the shopping complex in Kollam belonged to Abraham’s brothers and did not involve his personal funds.
However, the High Court, after reviewing the VACB's preliminary findings, expressed dissatisfaction with the inquiry. It noted that Abraham appeared to possess both movable and immovable properties of substantial value disproportionate to his known income, and said that a deeper, independent investigation by the CBI was necessary given Abraham’s high-profile position in the state government.
The CBI’s Kochi unit has since registered an FIR, and the investigation is now officially underway.