Kerala gold smuggling case: ED sends summons to Swapna Suresh after allegations against M Sivasankar

The summons come after Swapna Suresh made allegations against senior IAS officer, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s former principal secretary and an accused in the case — in his book Aswathathmavu Verum Oru Aana, M Sivasankar.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday issued fresh summons to Swapna Suresh, the main accused in the gold smuggling case to appear before it with a set of documents on Wednesday. Swapna should appear in person or through an authorised representative at 11 am.

The summons come after Swapna Suresh made allegations against senior IAS officer, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s former principal secretary and an accused in the case — in his book Aswathathmavu Verum Oru Aana, M Sivasankar.

In an interview, Suresh claimed that Sivasankar was “aware of her activities” and “he helped her in many ways including getting out of the state after the seizure of yellow metal”. She also said that Sivasankar was behind the audio clip from jail in which she was forced to say that central agencies want her to name Vijayan.

Swapna alleged Sivansakar was the only point of contact the UAE consulate had with the government.

ED is also looking into Swapna’s charge that it was Sivasankar who insisted to release an audio clip in favour of the Chief Minister’s office. Her audio clip giving a clean chit to the CMO was made as per the advice of people who were close to Sivasankar, Swapna had said.

The Kerala gold smuggling case pertains to the smuggling of gold in the state through diplomatic channels. It had come to light after 30 kg gold worth Rs 14.82 crore smuggled in a consignment camouflaged as diplomatic baggage was busted by the customs department in Thiruvananthapuram on July 5, 2019.

She was arrested in July, 2002, and after spending 16 months behind bars, Swapna Suresh was released from jail in November last year.

Meanwhile, Sivasankar was arrested on October 28, 2020, and was released on bail on February 4, last year.

The case is being probed by the Enforcement Directorate, National Investigative Agency (NIA) and the customs department.