The Enforcement Directorate has filed a charge sheet against three accused persons, Sarith P.S., Swapna Prabha Suresh and Sandeep Nair, in connection with the smuggling of gold through diplomatic channel in Kerala.
The accused smuggled gold from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) 21 times from November 2019 to June 2020. Swapna earlier worked as secretary to the UAE Consul General and Sarith was a public relations officer with the Consulate.
In her statement to the ED, Swapna is believed to have claimed that she met IAS official, M. Sivasankar, five to six times in the presence of Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and that the Chief Minister knew her as secretary to the Consul General.
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Mr. Sivasankar allegedly told the agency that he knew Swapna as secretary to the Consul General since early 2017 and that they later became family friends. He said he lent her money on several occasions as she was in financial difficulties.
The gold smuggling racket was unearthed after the Customs officials seized 30 kg of gold at the Trivandrum International Airport on July 5. Subsequently, the National Investigation Agency registered a case under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, based on which the ED initiated money laundering probe.
It all started after Sandeep first met K.T. Ramees, who was already into gold smuggling. Sarith suggested that gold could be brought through the cargo meant for the UAE Consulate. Swapna was roped in.
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While the Consul General had no knowledge about the illegal activities, she sought a commission of $1,000 per kg claiming that it was for him. A cut of ₹65,000 per consignment was decided for each of the other three. Sarith and Swapna got ₹39.66 lakh each for the entire smuggling, it is alleged.
Swapna worked with the Consulate from October 2016 to September 2019, where she got $975 as salary. She started working in the Space Park project since November last year at a salary of over ₹1 lakh. The Chief Minister knew of her appointment, she allegedly told the agency.
The ED alleges that Swapna received about ₹2 crore in commissions, including payments in foreign currency, from various companies.
The Consul General gave her $35,000 in June 2018, while Khalid, Head of Finance in the Consulate, gave her money equivalent to $50,000. She got another $20,000 from the Consul General in his office during August after the floods that year. She also received $50,000 as tip from the ruler of Sharjah during his visit to India, as alleged.
The ED has also recorded the statement of a chartered accountant, who allegedly managed funds for Swapna.