NEW DELHI:The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached assets worth Rs 1.85 crore, including those of former Kerala principal secretary M Sivasankar, in connection with its money laundering probe in the alleged Kerala gold smuggling case, the agency said on Thursday.
“Fixed deposits along with seized cash recovered from the bank lockers totalling to Rs 1.85 crore have been attached. Among the attached assets, Rs 1 crore belongs to M Sivasankar, IAS and former principal secretary to the Chief Minister of Kerala,” the agency said in a statement.
Sivasankar was arrested by the agency on October 28 and he is in judicial custody at present.
The ED case was filed on the basis of an FIR filed by the National Investigation Agency under various sections of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA).
The NIA had arrested the prime accused in the case, Swapna Suresh and her associate Sandeep Nair, from Bengaluru on July 11.
Sarith P S, a former employee of the UAE consulate in Kerala, was arrested by the Customs department after the gold was seized.
The ED had also arrested these people under various sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
The probe found that the accused Sarith P S, Swapna Suresh, Faisal Fareed and Sandeep Nair “indulged” in illegal smuggling of gold to India and huge amount of proceeds of crime were generated, the ED said.
The case emerged on July 5 when gold, weighing over 30 kg, was seized by the Customs department from the “diplomatic baggage” that had landed by air cargo at the Thiruvananthapuram International Airport from the Gulf.
The seized gold is stated to be worth Rs 14.82 crore and the ED said that it was “camouflaged as diplomatic baggage to the UAE Consulate, which has immunity from checking at airport as per the Vienna convention.” (AGENCIES)
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