The PMLA Court on Thursday received the ED’s remand report following the arrest of M Sivasankar in the LIFE Mission bribery scam case. Some WhatsApp chats between M Sivasankar and another accused, Swapna Suresh, were revealed in the remand report.
The court has yet to decide whether remand will be extended or sent to the judiciary.
These conversations between M. Sivashankar and Swapna Suresh via WhatsApp messages could be used as evidence in court.
According to the remand report, there is a larger nexus involving government representatives in contract allocation and the generation of proceeds of crime via the upfront commission as a bribe.
“On July 31, 2019, Sivasankar sent Swapna a WhatsApp message in which he warned her to be cautious and asked her to take care. Sivasankar warned Swapna not to get involved in his WhatsApp message and warned her that if something went wrong, they would blame her. He also told Swapna to stay out of the process, to which Swapna responded by saying she would give it to Sarith and Khalid (other suspects in the case). Sivasankar also informed Swapna that the CM had asked him to find a job for her,” the remand report stated.
“It is clear that Sivasankar was interested in the upfront commission earned from M/s Unitac Builders and Developers run by Santhosh Eapen. It is also clear that Santhosh Eapen paid for the luxury iPhone in Sivasankar’s possession,” it read.
According to the investigation, it is evident that a huge amount of money collected for the provision of residential homes to the unfortunate flood victims of Kerala was syphoned off as an upfront commission for the project contract’s allocation.
The report stated that despite numerous opportunities to reveal and cooperate with the investigation in order to uncover the complete method of laundering the proceeds of crime, Sivasankar has willfully adopted a non-cooperative attitude by either evading the question or providing misleading and evasive answers.
“By such action of willful non-cooperation, he is impeding the investigation by failing to disclose facts which are in his exclusive knowledge,” it said.
What is LIFE Mission Bribery Scam Case?
The Kerala government’s Life Mission project aims to build houses for the poor in the Thrissur district of Wadakkanchery. Houses were to be built for 140 families in the region with funds provided by the Red Crescent through the UAE consulate. The Red Crescent is a NGO that promotes humanitarian efforts.
The construction was undertaken by Unitac builders and Sane Ventures in accordance with the Red Crescent’s agreement with them.
Anil Akkara, then a Wadakancherry Congress MLA, filed a complaint against the two construction companies in 2020, alleging corruption in the Red Crescent’s selection of the contractor.
The CBI filed an FIR based on Akkara’s complaint in the same year, alleging that the project violated the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act.
The matter quickly became a political issue, with opposition parties alleging that Swapna Suresh admitted before an NIA court that she had received a commission of Rs 1 crore from the project. She allegedly claimed the money was for Sivasankar.
M Sivasankar, the former principal secretary to Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, was reportedly arrested on Wednesday in connection with the Life Mission scam. According to reports, the arrest was made after three days of questioning.
