After Life Mission, other projects brokered by Swapna under scanner

KOCHI: With the Opposition alleging corruption in the government’s housing project Life Mission, after gold smuggling accused Swapna Suresh reportedly claimed that she received a commission for the same, multiple investigation agencies are looking into other deals involving the UAE Consulate in which Swapna received kickbacks. The NIA has already recorded the statements of two persons who paid her commission for granting them various works coordinated by the consulate in Thiruvananthapuram. During the hearing of Swapna’s bail petition in the NIA Court last week, her counsel had said the money found in her lockers was the commission she received for a welfare housing project carried out by the consulate in Kerala.

NIA sources confirmed the housing project was part of the Life Mission for which around `40 crore was donated by Emirates Red Crescent after the 2018 flood. The state has several projects supported by agencies in the UAE and these will now be examined by the agencies to check whether Swapna brokered any of them. 

“Swapna was receiving commission for allotting projects related to the UAE Consulate. They include construction works and visa procedures handled by the consulate. This indicates her influence at the consulate. Agents knew that she should be approached to get things done at the consulate. In return, she was given a percentage of the project amount as commission. We have to verify whether Swapna received a commission from the Life Mission project or from the contractor tasked with constructing an apartment complex in Thrissur using the fund,” said a source.

Last year, the consulate had appointed two agencies to collect fees from people applying for visa stamping and certificate verification. Since the fees for such procedures are collected only through international cards, the agencies were appointed to facilitate fee collection. “We suspect the agencies were selected following Swapna’s recommendation. The agencies transferred around `70 lakh as commission. Even Swapna’s counsel admitted this,” said the source. It is said construction work of UAE Consulate in Hyderabad was granted to contractors in Kerala on Swapna’s recommendation.“The UAE Consulate in Thiruvananthapuram was supervising the construction of the consulate building in Hyderabad. We have recorded the statements of two persons who paid a commission of around `1crore for getting the contract,” said the source.