Congress leader Anil Akkara writes to ED, Finance Ministry, seeking action against Kerala CM’s son

Thrissur: Congress leader Anil Akkara here on Monday wrote to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Union Finance Ministry, seeking legal action against Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s son, Vivek Kiran, for failing to appear for questioning in the Life Mission project money laundering case in 2023.

The Life Mission scam involves the construction of apartments in Wadakkancherry, Thrissur, funded by the UAE Red Crescent for families affected by the 2018 Kerala floods.

According to ED allegations, Unitac Builders, which undertook the project, paid a commission of Rs 4.5 crore to middlemen, including state representatives. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has also registered a case related to violations of the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act based on Akkara’s complaint.

Congress leaders recently alleged a CPI(M)-BJP nexus, claiming that the ED had summoned Kiran in February 2023, but he did not appear, and no further action was reportedly taken. In his email to the Secretary of the Revenue Department, Finance Ministry, and ED Director, Akkara said that Vivek Kiran, Cliff House, Thiruvananthapuram (the CM's residence), is also found to be involved and should be considered an accused.

He said that the custodial interrogation of CM’s son is essential to avoid delays in the trial and to prevent any attempt to sabotage the case.

Akkara also called for tracing Khaled Mohamed Ali Shoukry, former Finance Head at the UAE Consulate, Thiruvananthapuram, who remains absconding, so that proceedings can commence. “The urgent intervention of ED is requested to ensure these individuals are located and brought to justice under the PMLA-registered Life Mission flat scam case,” he said. Akkara said that while other accused revealed the CM’s son’s involvement, it remains unclear why he was not interrogated. Whereas the former principal secretary to the Chief Minister, M Sivasankar, appeared before ED and was arrested on the same day, he said.

The Chief Minister has yet to respond to the allegations made by Congress leaders. Education Minister V Sivankutty dismissed the allegations raised against Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s son, Vivek Kiran, terming them a "politically motivated conspiracy".