Kochi: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's former principal secretary M Sivasankar had planned to settle down in the UAE after seeking voluntary retirement, claimed the Enforcement Directorate citing the statement of Swapna Suresh, an accused in the gold smuggling case.
Sivasankar had also planned to start a joint business with former UAE Consul General Jamal-al-Sabari.
The copies of the statement produced by the ED also states that Sivasankar had asked Swapna to help him buy a flat in Dubai so that he could acquire a resident visa for the UAE.
He wanted to move to the flat after following voluntary retirement.
According to Swapna, Sivasankar’s plan was to take up the Middle East distribution business of virtual reality equipment manufactured by companies in Kerala. He came across the potential of these companies as they were registered through the Startup Mission of the Kerala government.
Jamal al Sabri would have been the sole distributor of such equipment in the Middle East. The main attraction was to manufacture the equipment at a much lower price compared to the US.
Swapna's statement also revealed that Sivasankar had shares in many companies including those located in the Technopark, Thiruvananthapuram.
These claims were part of Swapna's deposition contained in a statement submitted in the Kerala High Court by the deputy director of the Enforcement Directorate. It was enclosed with the ED plea seeking to restrain the Crime Branch probe initiated against its officers probing the dollar smuggling case.
