NEW DELHI: ED has issued show-cause notices to Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan, his chief principal secretary and KIIFB CEO KM Abraham, and former finance minister TM Thomas Issac in an alleged FEMA violations case of Rs 467 crore.ED sources said the CM may not appear in person during the proceedings. The case relates to KIIFB floating a masala bond in London and Singapore stock exchanges to raise Rs 2,673 crore, of which Rs 467 crore was allegedly used for land purchase in violation of FEMA guidelines barring such diversion.The notices, issued on Nov 12, alleged KIIFB, headed by the CM as chairman, purchased land “specifically prohibited” under RBI directives. The noticees are not required to appear in person, sources said.
In 2022, ED began probing officials in the UAE gold smuggling case, tracing alleged Rs 4 crore bribery linked to Vijayan aide M Sivasankar, who was later arrested, and associated laundering attempts.The agency had also recovered Rs 60 lakh from an SBI bank locker then. The cash was alleged to be part of the payoffs deposited in the bank account jointly operated by the main accused Swapna Suresh and Sivasankar’s chartered accountant Venugopal. During questioning, the accused allegedly revealed that Sivasankar had escorted Swapna Suresh to his CA Venugopal’s residence and office twice in an attempt to launder the “proceeds of crime”.
