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The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has filed a preliminary chargesheet in the Wadakkanchery Life Mission corruption case, naming six accused, including Swapna Suresh. The chargesheet was submitted before the Ernakulam Chief Judicial Magistrate Court in Kochi. The case relates to alleged financial irregularities in a housing project for flood survivors in Thrissur district, funded through a grant from the UAE Red Crescent. M Sivasankar, former Principal Secretary to the Kerala Chief Minister, named as an accused in the original FIR, does not figure in this preliminary chargesheet, with the CBI stating that investigation into his role continues.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has filed a preliminary chargesheet in the Wadakkanchery Life Mission corruption case, naming six accused, including Swapna Suresh, in connection with alleged financial irregularities in the execution of a housing project for flood survivors in Thrissur district, Kerala.
The chargesheet was submitted before the Ernakulam Chief Judicial Magistrate Court in Kochi, naming Santhosh Eappen, Managing Partner of Unitac Builders, as the first accused, with his construction firm Sane Ventures named as the second accused and the Life Mission project itself listed as the third accused. The remaining accused named in the chargesheet are Sandeep Nair, an accused in the Thiruvananthapuram gold smuggling case, former UAE Consulate PRO PS Sarith, and Swapna Suresh, listed as the fourth, fifth and sixth accused respectively.
M Sivasankar, former Principal Secretary to Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, who was named as the seventh accused in the original FIR, does not appear in the preliminary chargesheet. According to CBI sources, investigation into his role, along with that of several senior government officials involved in the Life Mission project, is continuing, and a supplementary chargesheet is expected to be filed following the collection of additional evidence. Former Life Mission CEO UV Jose and other senior officials have also been left out of the initial chargesheet, with the probe into the involvement of senior IAS officers and government officials stated to be ongoing pending additional records from the State Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau.
The case relates to a Life Mission housing project undertaken in Wadakkanchery in Thrissur district, launched as part of rehabilitation efforts following the 2018 Kerala floods. The construction was funded through financial assistance provided by the UAE Red Crescent, with the project subsequently becoming embroiled in controversy over allegations of commission payments and irregularities in the utilisation of the foreign funds. An amount of INR 21 crore was received under the agreement signed with the UAE Red Crescent.
The Life Mission project was intended to provide low-cost housing to flood-affected families, with an international grant channelled through the UAE consulate supporting the construction. The project's execution has faced sustained scrutiny over the years, including a prior investigation by the Enforcement Directorate examining alleged money laundering linked to the transfer of foreign funds for the project, in a case that originated from an earlier CBI complaint filed in 2019.
The CBI's investigation had earlier registered a case alleging that the transfer of funds by Red Crescent, a foreign entity, to the Kerala government violated the provisions of the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act. The chargesheet represents the first formal charge document in the matter, with the agency indicating that further developments, including possible additional accused, may follow as the investigation progresses.
The report on the chargesheet did not specify the total quantum of alleged financial irregularities identified across the case, nor did it provide a timeline for when the CBI expects to conclude its investigation into the remaining accused named in the original FIR.
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