The Enforcement Directorate (ED) questioned Kerala Minister KT Jaleel on Friday morning in the controversial gold smuggling case. ED Director SK Mishra confirmed to TNM that the minister was questioned in the morning. The law enforcement agency had summoned the CPI(M) leader to its office in Kochi to probe his connection in the case and his dealings with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Consulate in Thiruvananthapuram. The agency is probing if the sitting MLA from Thanavur in Malappuram flouted the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010, by accepting foreign aid without Centre’s permission. Jaleel, however, has denied this while speaking to Malayalam media.
Days after the controversy broke out in early July, Minister KT Jaleel’s name surfaced for his alleged association with Swapna Suresh, the second accused in the Kerala gold smuggling case and a former employee of the UAE Consulate in Thiruvananthapuram. At the time, Jaleel had said that he was in communication with Swapna Suresh regarding distributing flood relief kits worth Rs 5 lakh, which was sponsored by the Consulate, during Ramazan. He claimed that he was not aware that she had resigned from the Consulate in 2019.
The ED summoned Jaleel to probe if he received any pecuniary benefits from the UAE Consulate, and thereby violated the law.
It had earlier surfaced that he received some 300 Holy Quran books from the Consulate reportedly via diplomatic cargo. The Minister for Higher Education also allegedly used the vehicle of the state government’s Kerala State Centre for Advanced Printing and Training (C-apt) to transport the religious texts to Malappuram. However, it is alleged that he did not receive permission from the Centre before accepting a foreign gift, and therefore, is in violation of the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010.
The Act regulates the acceptance or utilisation of foreign contribution or foreign hospitality by certain individuals or associations or companies. It states that no foreign contribution shall be accepted by any member of any Legislature, among others.
A UAE official reportedly told Mathrubhumi that the Arab country does not have the practice of sending religious texts to other countries via consulates. The Minister alleged that he could not return the Quran.
Earlier, Opposition Leader Ramesh Chennithala had alleged that KT Jaleel had contacted gold smuggling accused Swapna Suresh. Following this, Jaleel had himself shared a screenshot of his WhatsApp chat with acting Consular General Rashed Khasmi Ali Musaiqri Al Ashmia, which stated that Jaleel contacted Swapna on his direction, to coordinate with her regarding the Ramazan food kits.
Ever since the controversy came to the fore, the Kerala government has been receiving flak for hiring Swapna Suresh without proper vetting process, and for her association with the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) as well as the CM’s suspended Principal Secretary, M Sivasankar. Although KT Jaleel was under the radar for his dealings with Swapna Suresh and a probe was imminent, this will be the first time that a Minister of the ruling LDF government is being questioned in the gold smuggling case.
The government also came under fire for accepting aid from the UAE-based Red Cross in the Life Mission housing scheme for the poor. A Kerala government had signed a memorandum of understanding with the Red Cross in 2019.