Gold smuggling: Kerala Speaker refutes reports of connection with accused; cites 'facts'

Reacting to rumours of alleged involvement of Kerala Speaker Sreeramakrishnan with the prime accused in the gold smuggling case, Kerala Speaker's office issued a statement on Wednesday. The statement read that the accusations which are being made against Sreeramakrishnan were completely baseless and had nothing to do with real facts. 

The statement issued by Kerala Speaker's officer read, "Such an interpretation is now coming out in the context of a case that has been under investigation by various agencies for the past five months. I would like to inform you that this has nothing to do with facts. The speculations of the media are not true. Matters related to foreign trips have already been explained."

READ | Customs Arrest Sivasankar In Gold Smuggling Case

Gold smuggling case: Kerala Speaker's office issues statement

The statement also emphasised that the Speaker neither travelled with any of the accused, nor met them in any foreign country. Asserting that it is not right to drag the constitutional institution into political controversy and counter-accusations, Sreeramkrishnan's office said that he had visited the foreign countries either as a guest invited by some organisations or to visit his siblings who live abroad. All legal formalities for official travel have been adopted, Sreeramkrishnan added. 

What is Kerala Gold Smuggling scam?

On July 5, Customs officials seized 30 kg of gold worth Rs.15 crore at the Thiruvananthapuram Airport from a diplomatic cargo addressed to a person in the UAE Consulate. Sarith Kumar, who worked at the UAE Consulate was arrested in this regard. Reportedly, he told the Customs about the role of Swapna Suresh, an ex consulate employee who was appointed by Sivasankar as a manager in KSITIL. Following the backlash over her appointment, she was sacked by the state government. 

READ | Gold Smuggling Case: Customs Seeks 7 Day Extension Of Suspended IAS Officer M Sivasankar's Custody

On July 16, Vijayan announced that the suspension of his former Principal Secretary M Sivasankar pending the departmental inquiry. It was reportedly found that he had violated the All-India Services Conduct rules due to his connections with the gold smuggling accused. Soon after a special court of PMLA cases granted Customs department that permission to arrest Sivasankar after which the suspended IAS officer was formally arrested by the department in connection with the Kerala gold scam. 

READ | Kerala Gold Smuggling: Swapna Suresh A Family Friend Of M Sivasankar, Counsel Tells HC

On the other hand, yet another close aide of the Kerala Chief Minister, namely his additional private secretaryC.M. Raveendran was summoned by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with the ongoing investigation. The case is currently being probed by the ED, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and the Customs Department. The NIA has made severe allegations against the people named in the FIR of the Kerala Gold Scam that are  Sarith Kumar, Swapna Suresh, Fazil Fareed, Sandeep Nair, and others. The NIA has alleged that the smuggled gold was not used for jewellery purposes but for funding terror activities.

READ | Kerala Gold Smuggling: HC Adjourns CM's Ex-aide Sivasankar's Bail Plea Hearing To Dec 18

(With ANI inputs)