Amidst speculations of arrest, ED interrogates Sivasankar
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The questioning of M. Sivasankar, former Principal Secretary to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) stretched into Wednesday evening amidst speculations about his attainable arrest in reference to the cash laundering angle of the UAE consulate-linked gold smuggling case.
The interrogation, which started round 3.30 p.m., was progressing on the company’s workplace right here on the time of submitting this report. Customs officers questioned Mr. Sivasankar on the ED workplace in reference to the division’s probe into the case.
The day’s drama unfolded after the Kerala High Court rejected his anticipatory bail within the morning. Two ED officers arrived at a personal Ayurveda hospital in Thiruvananthapuram, the place Mr. Sivasankar was present process remedy for again ache and served him a summons for additional interrogation.
The embattled bureaucrat appeared stoic and refused to reply questions from journalists as he emerged from the hospital flanked by plain garments officers. The investigating workforce quickly whisked him away of their official automobile to their workplace in Kochi.
The company suspected that Mr. Sivasankar helped gold smuggling case accused Swapna Suresh conceal the huge proceeds from the crime in financial institution lockers and accounts. Swapna had allegedly spirited away an element of the booty to Dubai in overseas foreign money, and Mr. Sivasankar had accompanied her on some of the journeys.
The ED believed that the unlawful income had been ploughed again into the gold smuggling operation headed by individuals with suspicious hyperlinks to radical organisations within the nation and overseas.
Hence, the company wished to query him below Sections 16, 17 and 18 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). The provisions relate to elevating funds, straight or not directly, for anti-national actions and embody offences that imperil the financial safety of the nation. The unlawful acts below the UAPA are additionally “scheduled” offences below the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
The Customs officers quizzed Mr. Sivasankar on his hyperlinks with Swapna. It is learnt that the interrogation was primarily based on the decision knowledge information of Swapna and their joint journeys to the UAE, particularly in 2018 and 2019. The particulars of sure calls created from Swapna’s cellular quantity to an unknown quantity after the gold consignment was seized on July 5 had been additionally inquired by the investigating workforce.
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