The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Sunday appeared poised to extend its anti-money laundering probe into the official pursuits of M. Sivasankar, former Principal Secretary to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, while the IAS officer was in government service.
The agency has reportedly served notice to Chief Secretary Vishwas Mehta to provide details of several mega projects promoted by Mr. Sivasankar. The ED has purportedly sought details of Mr. Sivasankar’s role in promoting e-mobility scheme, K-Phone project, Smart City, and Downtown projects.
Govt. response
The government neither confirmed nor denied the report that the ED had sought such details. A senior officer told The Hindu that the administration was yet to verify the matter, and Monday might bring more clarity to the subject.
However, Leader of the Opposition Ramesh Chennithala and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) State president K. Surendran said that such a move was afoot. They said the ED wanted to find out whether Mr. Sivasankar had financially benefited from pushing the projects. His foreign visits were also a subject of inquiry, according to them.
Suspension in July
The government had suspended Mr. Sivasankar from service on a charge of official misconduct in July. Earlier, he had headed the IT Department. The ED had arrested him on October 28, and the officer has been in the custody of the agency since for questioning. The ED is investigating Mr. Sivasankar on the charge of helping UAE consulate gold smuggling case accused Swapna Suresh to stash away the proceeds of the crime and legitimise the wealth in stages.
In a court filing, the ED had said that Mr. Sivasankar had used the heft of his office to help Swapna regularly clear air freight addressed to the UAE consulate here without examination by the Customs.
On July 5, the Customs had seized 34 kg of gold from a consignment marked to the diplomatic mission setting of a series of investigations by Central law enforcement agencies. The ED also submitted that Mr. Sivasankar ‘oversaw and managed’ the finances of Swapna and possibly had a stake in the loot.
