Was offered Rs 30 crore to give up evidence against Kerala CM, claims gold smuggling case accused

Mangalore Today News Network

Thiruvananthapuram, Mar 09, 2023: Swapna Suresh, one of the key accused in the Kerala gold smuggling case, on Thursday claimed that the ruling CPI(M) offered her Rs 30 crore through an intermediary to settle the case and leave the state.

 

In a Facebook Live, Swapna revealed that a middleman named Vijay Pillai, sent by the CPI(M) state secretary MV Govindan, had asked her to hand them over all the evidence against Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and his family and stop talking about the CM.

"They want me to go to Haryana or Jaipur. They said all assistance would be given, including a flat. They will arrange for her to leave the country once the fake passports are ready,” Swapna Suresh said.

She claimed that Pillai came to meet her in Bengaluru at a hotel under the pretext of an interview and later revealed that he came for a final settlement. “He said they would give me two days to take a decision or else my life will be at stake,” Swapna Suresh said during her Facebook live.

"I have no personal agenda with CM Pinarayi Vijayan or his family, nor want to destroy his political career. I was clearly told that CPM secretary Govindan would finish my life. This person told me that he would give me two days to make a decision. I have sent details of his phone numbers and email address to my advocate," she added.

"I want to tell the CM on his face that I am going to fight till the end. I have people who trust me. If I live, I will expose your entire business empire and don’t ever think or dare to threaten me. I’ll expose your real face to the world," Swapna Suresh said.

GOLD SMUGGLING CASE

On July 5, 2020, customs officials at the international airport in Kerala’s Thiruvananthapuram seized baggage containing gold weighing over 30 kg and valued at around Rs 15 crore. The gold was inside diplomatic baggage and addressed to the UAE consulate.

Customs officials acted based on a tip-off that the baggage was part of a smuggling syndicate trying to misuse the name of a person who enjoys diplomatic immunity.

The gold seizure snowballed into a major political controversy that shook the foundation of the ruling Left government, especially after top bureaucrat M Sivasankar got involved.

The former principal secretary to Kerala CM Vijayan was suspended from service after his links with prime accused Swapna Suresh surfaced. He was later arrested and granted bail thereafter.

A former staffer at the UAE consulate, Swapna Suresh, was hired by a private firm to work on a project for the Kerala IT department, which is under chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan. The CM’s principal secretary, M Sivasankar, used to head this department.

An investigation revealed that Swapna Suresh had contacts with powerful people in Kerala and made several calls to them in the run-up to the current case of gold smuggling.

Courtesy: India Today