Gold smuggling case: ED files charge sheet against Sivasankar

Thiruvananthapuram, Dec 24 (SocialNews.XYZ) The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has filed a charge sheet against M. Sivashankar, former Principal Secretary to Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, in a case related to money laundering.

The charge sheet comprising more than a thousand pages was submitted before an Ernakulam ED court.

The ED has filed a charge sheet as Sivasankar will complete 60 days of judicial custody on December 29 and if the charge sheet is not filed, the accused is liable to get bail.

It may be noted that recently the ED had ordered confiscation of Sivasankar's properties in the money laundering case. The Enforcement Directorate has also mentioned in the charge sheet that as the investigations conducted by the Customs, ED and CBI in the gold smuggling case are at various stages providing bail to Sivasankar at this stage may lead to sabotaging the investigation.

The charge sheet also mentioned that Sivasankar has been the main brain behind the gold smuggling case and that he had amassed huge wealth through it.

The charge sheet also said that the 1 kg gold and 1 crore rupees which was seized from the locker belonging to the gold smuggling accused Swapna, in fact belongs to Sivasankar.

The charge sheet also explains that this was the corruption amount given by the owner of the contracting firm, Santhosh Eapen to Sivasankar after he intervened to get the Life Mission contract to the former.

ED also stated before the court that several digital evidence are yet to be uncovered and hence one more charge sheet will be filed.

Source: IANS