The Enforcement Directorate (ED) interrogated C.M. Raveendran, additional private secretary to Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, for over nine hours at the agency’s office here on Tuesday in connection with a money-laundering case booked in relation to the alleged commission paid for the LIFE Mission housing project of the government at Wadakkanchery, Thrissur.
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He left the ED office around 8 p.m. Mr. Raveendran, who reached the office around 9.45 a.m, refused to reply to questions by mediapersons.
Mr. Raveendran had failed to turn up before the agency on February 27 for interrogation stating that the State Assembly was in session. The agency issued another summons on March 1 asking him to appear before it on March 7.
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The agency had earlier grilled him in connection with a money-laundering case booked following a diplomatic gold smuggling case.
LIFE Mission project
The ED is learnt to have sought information from him regarding the alleged pay-off in awarding the contract for the LIFE Mission project at Wadakkanchery. The agency had booked a case against the accused for money laundering under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
The agency had earlier arrested M. Sivasankar, former Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister, in connection with the case. Mr. Sivasankar is currently in judicial custody.
The case, according to the investigating agency, is that a huge amount was siphoned off by the accused as commission from the funds released by an overseas organisation for the housing project. The agency contended that the money found in the bank locker of Swapna Suresh, another accused in the money-laundering case booked earlier, was part of the commission the accused had received.