Kochi: Parallel investigations by multiple Indian agencies into the deep web of crime spun by a racket that carried out gold and currency smuggling with likely help from key figures in the political and bureaucratic community in Kerala are now on. A pro-poor Kerala government project also came under the machinations of the racket and it is suspected that bureaucrat M Sivasankar and his associate Swapna Suresh had received bribes in return for facilitating the housing project with aid from a UAE agency.
The CBI has now approached the Kerala High Court seeking the removal of the stay on the probe into the Life Mission project that was executed in Wadakancherry. The court had issued an interim order on October 30 staying the investigation against Life Mission CEO for two months.
The CBI said that the statements of witnesses and documents obtained in the case point to a conspiracy by senior government officials. The investigation is at an early stage and only a small part of the crime has come out, the CBI told the court.
The CBI's argument
The Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act or the FCRA prohibits Life Mission or any other agency from accepting foreign aid. But, construction company Unitac Builders and Sane Ventures accepted foreign assistance for the Life Mission project. A part of this financial aid was used to bribe officials and intermediaries. Unitac owner Santhosh Eapen has admitted that several people were given commission and gifts. An investigation is underway to find out who received the commissions and the gifts.
Had the foreign aid been received directly into the Life Mission account, then it would have been subject to the scrutiny of audit agencies.
Besides paying a bribe of Rs 4.5 crore, Santosh Eapen also gave seven iPhones as gifts. One of these iPhones was recovered from the possession of M Sivasankar, the former principal secretary of the chief minister, the CBI stated.
The Wadakancherry Municipality gave permission to Life Mission to construct 203 flats on government land based on a design prepared by the Habitat Technology Group. However, Unitac snatched the contract by conspiring with officials.
Life Mission CEO UV Jose had stated before the investigators that Unitac was selected through a tender but he did not know what was the basis for the selections, the plea further stated.
