Kerala’s Life Mission scam case: ED attaches assets worth Rs.5.3 cr of Santosh Eappen, Swapna Suresh

ED attached residential properties of Eappen and immovable property and bank balances held in the name of Swapna Suresh

October 21, 2023

Life Mission scam: Funds donated were used to generate commission as bribes without following transparency procedures

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) attached movable and immovable properties worth Rs.5.38 crore of Santhosh Eappen and Swapna Suresh, in a massive action in connection with Kerala’s Life Mission scam case.

The ED in a statement said that it attached residential properties of Eappen and immovable property and bank balances held in the name of Swapna Suresh.

The ED registered a case on the basis of FIRs registered by CBI, ACB, Cochin and VACB, Thiruvananthapuram under various sections of IPC, FCRA, and Prevention of Corruption Act against companies — Unitac, Sane Ventures, and others for alleged pecuniary advantage obtained from the Life Mission Project.

The agency said that during its probe it was found that a conspiracy was hatched by Sarith P S and Swapna Suresh, the then UAE Consulate employees with the active support of M Sivasankar, then Principal Secretary to the Kerala Chief Minister and Sandeep Nair and others to generate commission as bribe from the funds donated by Red Crescent by awarding the LIFE Mission project to Unitac Builders and Developers and Sane Ventures LLP run by Eappen without following the transparency norms.

“From the funds received from UAE Red Crescent for Life Mission project which was meant for the provision of residential homes to the helpless flood victims of Kerala, Eappen had arranged an upfront commission as bribe totally amounting to Rs.4.40 crore for UAE Consulate Officials and certain Kerala government officials by withdrawing money from the bank accounts of the companies of Eappen out of which US$ worth 1,90,000 was illegally exported by Khaled Ahmed Ali Shoukry, former Finance Head of UAE Consulate Trivandrum. Sandeep Nair and Yedu Sundran were also found to be involved in the offence of money laundering by generating POC including its possession and acquisition of the same,” the agency added.

[With Inputs from IANS]

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