Published 21:44 IST, October 21st 2020
Kerala Gold scam: Venugopal tells ED 'Sivasankar ordered to open joint locker with Swapna'
Chartered Accountant P Venugopal has revealed that he opened a joint locker along with Swapna Suresh on the direction of M Sivasankar
As the probe in the Kerala Gold Smuggling case intensifies, Chartered Accountant P Venugopal has revealed that he opened a joint locker along with Swapna Suresh on the direction of former Principal Secretary to the Kerala Chief Minister M Sivasankar. Earlier, Swapna Suresh had testified that Venugopal was recommended by Shivashankar as she needed to deposit 30 lakhs as FD.
According to Enforcement Directorate's statement, Venugopal said that Sivasankar was present when Swapna handed over the cash and held discussions afterwards. Sivasankar was present during the entire discussion. Earlier, Sivasankar informed ED in a statement that he had returned after introducing Swapna Suresh to Venugopal.
"I had opened a joint account for Swapna Suresh based on the direction of Sivasankar. Sivasankar came to my house along with Swapna and handed over the cash two days before it was deposited in the locker," he said.
"The bag carrying cash was handed over by Swapna. But Sivasankar had sent a text on WhatsApp before that stating that Rs 35 lakh was being sent. However, only Rs 30 lakh was there. After depositing the cash in the locker, a WhatsApp message was sent to Sivasankar to which he replied thank you," he added.
Furthermore, Venugopal said that he did not charge any fee from Swapna Suresh because of his connection with Sivasankar. He added that Swapna had taken Rs 30 lakh from the locker in several instalments.
"I did not charge any fee from Swapna Suresh because of my long time connection with Sivasankar. I was called several times to close the locker. Swapna had taken Rs 30 lakh from the locker in several installments. On three to four occasions, I took cash from the locker and handed it over to Sarith. Once the entire amount was taken out of the locker, she called me to close the locker," he said.
Earlier, Venugopal was called for questioning in light of various digital evidence which the investigating agency has allegedly retrieved from various accused in the gold smuggling scandal. But the Kerala High Court on October 21 directed the Customs department not to arrest him until October 23. Earlier, the ED had been restrained from taking coercive action against him till the same date in the gold smuggling scam. Justice Ashok Menon of the HC stated that both cases will be considered on the same day. During the hearing, Sivasankar's lawyer contended that his client had been interrogated by various investigating agencies for over 90 hours.
Sivasankar's alleged involvement in gold smuggling scam
The gold smuggling scam came to light when the Customs officials seized 30 kg of gold worth Rs.15 crore at the Thiruvananthapuram Airport on July 5 from a diplomatic cargo addressed to a person in the UAE Consulate. Sivasankar's suspension was announced by CM Vijayan on July 16, based on the recommendations by a state government-appointed two-member committee probing his role in the scandal.
It was reportedly found that he had violated the All-India Services Conduct rules due to his connections with the accused. Amongst other charges, it has been alleged that the suspended bureaucrat allegedly played a key role in the appointment of Swapna Suresh as operations manager in the Kerala State Information Technology Infrastructure Limited.
(With Inputs from ANI)
Updated 21:44 IST, October 21st 2020