Sivasankar arraigned as 6th accused in dollar smuggling case

Kochi: The Customs Department has prepared a chargesheet in the dollar smuggling case by framing former principal secretary and Chief Minister's aide M Sivasankar as the sixth accused.

According to the chargesheet, the money seized from the bank locker of the gold smuggling case accused Swapna Suresh belonged to Sivasankar. The money was the commission he received from the Life Mission Project. The chargesheet also said that Sivasankar passed on intelligence secrets to Swapna.

UAE Consulate former official Khalid Mohammed al Shoukri is the first accused in the case.

Sivasankar was the main conspirator behind the dollar smuggling bid, and the IAS officer attempted to cover up the crime, stated the charge sheet filed by the investigation agency before the Special Court for Economic Offences.

The chief minister’s former aide received Rs 1 crore towards commission while awarding the LIFE Mission (mass house construction programme) contract. The amount seized from the locker of Swapna Suresh was, in fact, the commission received by Sivasankar, according to the charge sheet.

Sivasankar was aware of the dealings through the consulate. The charge sheet also mentioned the statements given by Swapna Suresh that she had smuggled foreign currency at the instance of the Chief Minister.

Sivasankar was suspended on July 17, 2020, after a chief secretary-level inquiry committee found him to have links with the accused in the gold smuggling through diplomatic channel case, including Swapna Suresh. However, he was taken back to service in January 2022.