ED issues notice to CM’s additional private secretary

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has reportedly asked C.M. Raveendran, additional private secretary to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, to present himself at its Kochi office on Friday.

The move assumed a measure of political and legal implications for the State government against the backdrop of the arrest of M. Sivasankar, former Principal Secretary to Mr. Vijayan, by the ED as part of its probe into the money laundering and layering aspects of the UAE gold smuggling case that has convulsed the LDF government.

The ED was tight-lipped whether it had summoned Mr. Raveendron the basis of Mr. Sivasankar’s statement to investigators. The ED appeared poised to extend its anti-money laundering probe into the official pursuits of Mr. Sivasankar, he was in government service.

The ED had also sought details of at four mega-projects promoted by the government. The schemes had involved dealings with foreign officials and companies.

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