Kochi: As the investigations into the diplomatic gold smuggling case are going all agog, unearthing clinching evidences against the suspects or accused, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has realised that it was none other than Swapna Suresh who saw to it that the operations of the racket were smooth and successful. Kerala chief minister's former principal secretary M Sivasankar was used by her to camouflage her shady operations, the agency apprised the special court here.
While opposing Sivasankar's bail application, the ED told the court that Sivasankar was the mask for Swapna as she carried out gold smuggling through diplomatic baggage, paid bribe and conducted illegal financial transactions even for government projects including those of the Life Mission.
Sivasankar's bail plea
The bail plea of Sivasankar, who has been remanded to the district jail in connection with the money laundering case, will be considered on Tuesday.
Instead of taking Sivasankar directly to jail, he was kept in the lock-up of Covid Surveillance Centre at the Borstal School at Thrikkakkara. He will be shifted to jail only if his next Covid test turns negative.
Additional solicitor general Surya Prakash Raju who appeared for the ED online, argued that Sivasankar was the main participant and the master brain behind the payment of bribes and gold smuggling carried out by Swapna.
ED point on locker wealth challenged
However, in the counter-argument Sivasankar's counsel B Raman Pillai said the ED allegations which lacked concrete evidence were contradictory to their own findings and the conclusions of the National Investigation Agency (NIA). He also argued that the current probe was targeted at the Kerala chief minister’s office.
As reported earlier the ED also told the court that the black money found in Swapna's locker belonged to Sivasankar and it was kickback received for a Life Mission Project. In this context the court made a verbal observation that this stand of the ED is conflicting with the NIA findings and ED's own claim in the charge sheet.
The ED charge sheet states that the money found in the bank locker, jointly owned by Swapna and Sivasankar's chartered accountant, is the monetary gain made through gold smuggling. The NIA, which had opened the locker and seized the black money and gold in it, also had informed the court that it was attained through gold smuggling.
ED's defence
However, ED argued that during the first stage of the probe Swapna misled the officials making contradictory statements. It was only after recovery of digital evidence and questioning in the jail based on the statements given by witnesses that the facts in the case came out, the ED informed the court.
The court observed that this was not the time to examine the credibility of Swapna's statements.
Special prosecutor T A Unnikrishnan appeared for ED and S Rajeev represented Sivasankar in the court.
Swapna to Vigilance
Meanwhile Swapna has reiterated her statement that Rs 1.05 crore recovered from her locker was the commission amount received by Sivasankar for the Life Mission Project. After deposing to the ED, she averred this before the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau too.
Sivasankar was aware of the money being received as commission and the money being kept in safe custody in the locker, she further said
Of the Rs 1.05 crore received as commission, Rs 64 lakh was kept in an SBI locker and Rs 36.50 lakh in a Federal Bank locker. Sivasankar's chartered accountant Venugopal helped in keeping the money in lockers. Sivasankar was aware of all illegal financial transactions, she said in the statement.
Grounds for opposing bail
While opposing Sivasankar's bail application, the ED informed the court that the probe had reached a crucial stage and it should examine the evidence submitted in a sealed cover.
The ED said that the evidence had been submitted in a sealed cover as any leakage of proof at this crucial stage will adversely affect the probe.
ED's arguments
• The bribe money recovered from the bank locker was paid in return for a crucial project information leaked out by Sivasankar from government files.
• Much before the gold smuggling through diplomatic baggage, Sivasankar had indulged in corruption worth crores of rupees keeping Swapna in the front
• Gold smuggling was only a continuation of such illegal activities.
• The crucial links in the money laundering case are yet to be out.
• Swapna tried to mislead the probe in the first stage by telling lies.
• Granting bail to Sivasankar will pave the way for destruction of crucial evidence.
Defence by Sivasankar's counsel
• It is alleged the accused began the conspiracy for gold smuggling in 2019, but the locker from where money was recovered was opened by Swapna as early as August 2018.
• ED says the money recovered from the locker was a commission received for the Life Mission project while NIA contradicts this says it is the profit from gold smuggling.
• Don't make Sivasankar an accused just on the basis of statements made by Swpana who has been under pressure from various investigation agencies over the past four months. The statements given by Swapna are not factual.
• The investigating agency has said that Sivasankar called up a senior officer in the Customs to get the diplomatic baggage released. However, it is not revealing which officer was contacted.