The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has confirmed that it did, in fact, issue a summons in 2023 to Vivek Kiran, the son of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. Summon was linked to the SNC-Lavalin case, in which Vijayan was previously accused during his tenure as the state's Electricity Minister. According to ED sources, the move was prompted by confidential statements made by Swapna Suresh — an accused in the gold smuggling and Life Mission cases — as well as a complaint filed by journalist TP Nandakumar.
In her secret deposition, Swapna Suresh alleged that M Sivasankar, former Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister, had roles in the gold smuggling, dollar smuggling, Life Mission, and Lavalin cases, and claimed the Chief Minister was aware of these activities. She also alleged that while serving as KSEB Chairman in 2013, Sivasankar had destroyed crucial documents related to the SNC-Lavalin agreement, which had allegedly caused a loss of ₹374 crore to the state exchequer in 1996.
Nandakumar had raised similar allegations in a 2006 complaint to the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI). After Swapna Suresh reiterated Nandakumar’s claims, the ED registered an ECIR in the Lavalin case and recorded Nandakumar’s statement.
Based on these developments, the agency summoned Sivasankar to appear before its Kochi office in connection with the Life Mission case, where he was interrogated and arrested the same day. Vivek Kiran was also directed to appear before the same office, but he chose not to comply with the summons.
The ED's procedure typically involves deciding whether to list an individual as an accused or a witness only after interrogation. In this instance, the investigation officer had specifically noted that Vivek Kiran’s personal appearance was deemed "essential."
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, who was the eighth accused in the SNC-Lavalin case, was acquitted by the Thiruvananthapuram CBI court in 2013 before the trial began. The Kerala High Court upheld the acquittal in August 2017. The CBI’s appeal against this decision has been pending before the Supreme Court for several years.
Meanwhile, Pinarayi Vijayan stated on Monday that he had no knowledge of any ED summons reportedly issued to his son. He asserted that neither he nor his family has ever been involved in corruption. He added: “Everyone knows my political life. I am proud of my children. They will never do anything that would tarnish my name or reputation.”
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