E-Paper
Kerala: ED arrests ex-bureaucrat over alleged corruption in housing scheme
Sivasankar, a former principal secretary to the Kerala chief minister, earlier spent 100 days in jail in connection with the seizure of 30 kg of gold from a diplomatic bag in 2020
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrested former bureaucrat M Sivasankar after three-day questioning in connection with the alleged corruption in the Life Mission scheme for free houses for the homeless in Kerala.
Sivasankar, a former principal secretary to the Kerala chief minister, earlier spent 100 days in jail in connection with the seizure of 30 kg of gold from a diplomatic bag meant to be delivered to the UAE consulate in Thiruvananthapuram in 2020.
People aware of the matter said ED arrested Sivasankar at 11.30pm on Tuesday as he allegedly refused to cooperate with the investigators. He was due to be produced before the special court in Kochi on Wednesday.
Irregularities in the Life Mission scheme came to light when central agencies were probing the smuggling case. The agencies allegedly found ₹one crore cash and two kg of gold from the bank lockers of Swapna Suresh, the main accused in the smuggling case.
She reportedly told the agencies that the money was the commission received for clinching a deal with an international aid agency that funded a housing project for flood victims in Thrissur.
She alleged Sivasankar, who was retired from the service last month, asked her to keep the money in her locker.
It later emerged that the Union government’s permission was not sought for accepting the foreign contribution to the project.
The Central Bureau of Investigation subsequently registered a case in October 2020 under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA). The state government insisted the FCRA did not apply and unsuccessfully moved the court to quash the case.
People aware of the matter cited investigation and said ₹18.50 crore was allegedly collected from the foreign aid agency through the UAE consulate and only ₹14.50 crore was spent on the project.
The rest of the money or ₹4 crore was allegedly paid to the government and consulate officials as a bribe. Suresh reportedly told agencies that Sivashankar asked her to keep his part of the share in her locker.
