M Sivasankar | Photo: Mathrubhumi
Kochi: The charge sheet filed by the customs in court on Thursday claims M Sivasankar, Principal Secretary of the Sports and Youth Department, Government of Kerala, as sixth accused in the dollar smuggling case. It reiterated the allegations levelled against him so far.
The case pertains to the alleged smuggling of ₹1.30 crore by a former officer of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) consulate in Thiruvananthapuram to Muscat in Oman. Customs alleged that Sivasankar was aware of the smuggling and shared an intelligence report on the same with Swapna Suresh and Sarith, both accused in the case.
Khaled Mohamed Ali Shoukry, former finance head of the UAE Consulate, Sarith, Swapna Suresh, Sandeep, Santosh Eaapen, and Sivsankar are the six accused named in the 40-page charge sheet filed by Customs in court.
The charge sheet alleged that Sivasankar was behind granting the LIFE Mission (mass house building programme) contract in Wadakkanchery to Unitac Builders. Additionally, Rs 1 crore seized from Swapna Suresh's account by NIA was a commission for Sivasankar, they alleged.
Further, the charge sheet claimed that Sivasankar had repeatedly assisted Swapna and Sarith by sharing the intelligence report over smuggling.
The charge sheet also mentions the WhatsApp chat between Sivasankar and Swapna. It is alleged that Sivasankar had plans to start a business abroad. Further, customs noted that Khaled Mohamed Ali Shoukry had smuggled baggage during CM Pinarayi Vijayan's visit to UAE in 2017.
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