The Enforcement Directorate (ED) took action on Friday by attaching the residential properties of individuals Santhosh Eappen and Swapna Suresh in connection with the Life Mission scam. This move encompassed both movable and immovable assets, amounting to a total value of Rs 5.38 crore, in addition to the bank balances held under Swapna Suresh’s name.
The ED initiated this case following FIRs lodged by various entities, including the CBI, ACB Cochin, and VACB Thiruvananthapuram. These FIRs encompassed multiple sections of the IPC, FCRA, and the Prevention of Corruption Act, focusing on companies such as Unitac, Sane Ventures, and others. The allegations revolved around the acquisition of pecuniary advantages from the Life Mission Project.
In the course of its investigation, the agency uncovered a conspiracy involving Sarith P.S and Swapna Suresh, who were then employees of the UAE Consulate, with the active support of M. Sivasankar, the former Principal Secretary to the Kerala Chief Minister, as well as Sandeep Nair and others. Their objective was to obtain commissions as bribes from funds donated by the Red Crescent, under the guise of awarding the LIFE Mission project to Unitac Builders and Developers and Sane Ventures LLP, both operated by Eappen, without adhering to transparency norms.
The agency revealed, “From the funds received from UAE Red Crescent for the Life Mission project, which was intended to provide residential homes to the flood victims in Kerala, Eappen facilitated an upfront commission, amounting to a total of Rs 4.40 crore, as bribes. These were intended for UAE Consulate Officials and certain Kerala government officials, achieved through withdrawals from the bank accounts of Eappen’s companies. Notably, USD 1,90,000 was illegally exported by Khaled Ahmed Ali Shoukry, the former Finance Head of the UAE Consulate in Trivandrum. Additionally, Sandeep Nair and Yedu Sundran were implicated in money laundering offenses, encompassing the generation, possession, and acquisition of the proceeds of crime.”
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