Sabu M Jacob calls report of ED's FEMA case against Kitex 'baseless', denies NDA entry was to evade action

Kochi: Twenty20 president and Kitex Group managing director Sabu M Jacob has issued a scathing rebuttal to media reports alleging that his recent entry into the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) was a bid to escape legal action by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) over the company's alleged violations of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA).

Jacob clarified that while Kitex received an ED notice in May 2025, it pertained to routine administrative inquiries regarding financial records and export logistics, rather than criminal investigations into Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) violations or money laundering, as suggested by certain news outlets.

In a press conference on Tuesday afternoon, Jacob addressed the specific media claims regarding the alleged 'ED summons'. "The news reports were a deliberate misrepresentation of standard procedural notices. There are no FEMA violations or money laundering cases against Kitex. It is an attempt to destroy the company," Jacob said.

Jacob said that the notice received in May primarily requested balance sheet verifications, a common practice for agencies like the GST department and Income Tax authorities, and inquiries into delayed payments for international shipments made during the COVID-19 pandemic. "The company's Chief Financial Officer has fully cooperated by providing all relevant records. In 33 years of business, Kitex has never faced a financial penalty or legal violation," Jacob added.

Jacob also said that he would not let the "malicious rumours" go unpunished. He is moving to file official complaints with the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting against news channels that he claims broadcast fabricated stories of his imminent arrest. "I will send a legal notice against the news channel that first published the misleading and baseless news. I will also petition the Ministry of Home Affairs to investigate potential leaks from within investigative agencies that may have been used to fuel these political narratives," Jacob said.

Meanwhile, Jacob reiterated that the decision to join the NDA was a protective and strategic evolution for Twenty20. He argued that the political climate in Kerala had become hostile, pointing to an "unholy alliance" of 25 different political and communal outfits, including the LDF and UDF, that allegedly worked to dismantle Twenty20's influence in recent local body elections. He said that joining the national alliance was the only way to safeguard his voters from political victimisation.