Kerala gold smuggling prime accused Swapna Suresh levelled serious charges against Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan, saying he was involved in the gold smuggling case.
After her deposition before the court in Kochi, Swapna Suresh spoke to the media, where she said baggage containing currency was sent to Vijayan when he was in Dubai in 2016.
“It all started in 2016 when the chief minister was on a trip to the UAE. It was then that Sivasankar contacted me first since I was the secretary in the consulate. He told me the chief minister had forgotten to take one of his bags, and it had to be taken to Dubai immediately. We sent the bag to the CM through a diplomat in the consulate. When it was brought to the consulate, we found that there was currency in it. That is how it all started,” she said.
She said she told the court about the involvement of the chief minister, his former principal secretary M. Sivasankar, Vijayan’s wife Kamala, daughter Veena, his additional private secretary C.M. Raveendran, former bureaucrat Nalini Netto and former minister K.T. Jaleel.
She said biryani vessels containing heavy metals used to be taken to the CM’s official residence, Cliff House, from the consulate general’s house, following the instructions of Sivsankar. “These vessels had heavy objects other than biryani. I can’t reveal everything right now. I will make further revelations when the time is right,” she added.
Earlier this year, Swapna Suresh had alleged that she was exploited and manipulated by M Sivasankar, principal secretary of Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
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 the customs department in Thiruvananthapuram busted diplomatic baggage on July 5, 2019.
The case is being probed by the Enforcement Directorate, National Investigative Agency (NIA) and the customs department.
