Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan Carried Bundle of Currency to UAE in 2017, Says Customs

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan carried a bundle of currency to the UAE during one of his visits to the UAE in 2017. The statement was made by the UAE Consulate's former staffer PS Sarith in a deposition in October, claimed the Customs.

The Customs has mentioned about the claims against Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in show-cause notices issued on Thursday (July 29) to the six persons named in the illegal export of dollars to UAE.

The investigation has revealed the illegal export of US $190,000 to the UAE by the Consulate's former financial head, Khaled Mohamed Al Shouky.

The Customs has issued notices to the six people — including Shoukry, Sarith, Swapna Suresh and P Sivasankar and have asked them to file their replies within 30 days.

In an embarrassment to the Kerala government, the Kerala High Court on Wednesday (August 11) stayed an order by the Pinarayi Vijayan government appointing a Commission of Inquiry to look into any “attempt” by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to implicate the Kerala chief minister in the gold smuggling case. The Kerala High Court noted a parallel inquiry would “derail the investigation”.

The Enforcement Directorate had moved the Kerala High Court against the May 7 order of the Pinarayi Vijayan government.