ED files money laundering case in Sabarimala gold theft

ED Registers Case in Sabarimala Gold Theft

The Union government has granted consent to register a case in the Sabarimala gold theft. The Kochi unit of the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) has registered an ECIR (Enforcement Case Information Report) under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

This intervention by the Central agency comes as a special investigation team (SIT) investigates the politically sensitive case under the supervision of the Kerala High Court. So far, 12 persons have been arrested.

Details of the Investigation

An officer of the rank of Joint Director is expected to lead the ED probe. All those named in the cases registered by State investigative agencies may be accused in the ED case. More names may be added as the investigation continues. Initially, the State Crime Branch registered two cases related to the alleged theft of gold from the Dwarapalaka idols and the temple’s door frame. The High Court appointed the SIT amid political uproar against the State government.

The ED began preliminary inquiries into the alleged theft in October last year after potential money laundering aspects emerged. The agency filed a petition before the Kollam Vigilance Court to seek custody of case-related documents. The petition argued that acts of forgery, misappropriation of temple gold, and suspected laundering linked to Sabarimala were offences under Section 467 of the Indian Penal Code, a scheduled offence under PMLA.

The agency stated it was prima facie satisfied that the proceeds of crime were possessed by the prime accused, Unnikrishnan Potti, and others. It assured the court that the documents would remain confidential and not be used for any other purpose.

Despite opposition from the SIT, the court granted the petition, allowing the ED access to the documents. After reviewing them, the ED sought the Centre’s approval to register its own case. The agency is now expected to record statements from all accused, including Mr. Potti.