‘No evidence’: Kerala govt closes Punarjani-FCRA vigilance case against CM Satheesan

Kerala Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala on Thursday (July 30) said the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) has found no evidence against Chief Minister VD Satheesan in connection with allegations linked to the Punarjani flood rehabilitation project and decided to close all proceedings in the case.

Addressing reporters in Thiruvananthapuram, Chennithala said the vigilance probe found no material to link Satheesan with the alleged violations of the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA) or any other irregularity in the project, which was launched for the rehabilitation of victims of the 2018 floods in his Paravur constituency.

"The investigation has found that Satheesan was not directly involved in any financial transaction, nor did the probe find any evidence against him," he said.

‘Decision entirely on probe findings’: Chennithala

Dismissing allegations that the government had given Satheesan a clean chit after the change of regime, Chennithala said the decision was based entirely on the findings of the vigilance investigation and on the basis of the report submitted by the Director of VACB.

The minister said the investigation established that Satheesan, who was the Leader of the Opposition when the case was registered, had no connection with any financial transaction related to the project, and that all the transactions were carried out through the accounts of the Manappat Foundation (the corporate social responsibility wing of the Dubai-based Manappat Group) and their FCRA account.

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"The investigation found that Satheesan had not committed any offence under the relevant provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act. No evidence of any criminal offence or wrongdoing was detected," he said.

Accordingly, the VACB Director recommended that no further proceedings be required, and the government has accepted that recommendation," the home minister explained.

"There is clear evidence that he was not involved in even a single financial transaction. I have personally examined the entire case file," Chennithala added.

‘CBI probe was recommended for political reasons’

Chennithala also alleged that the previous LDF government had recommended a CBI probe into the matter purely for political reasons.

In January this year, under the Pinarayi Vijayan-led LDF government, the VACB had recommended a CBI probe against Satheesan, alleging irregularities in raising foreign funds for the Punarjani rehabilitation project.

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The vigilance report had alleged FCRA violations, and claimed that Satheesan travelled abroad after obtaining permission from the Centre for a private visit and collected funds overseas, which were later transferred to accounts in Kerala.

The report had recommended a CBI investigation under Section 3(2)(a) of the FCRA, which prohibits any person residing in India or any Indian citizen residing abroad from accepting foreign contributions on behalf of a political party, sources had then said.

Punarjani project

After the floods in Kerala in 2018, Satheesan began a project called “Punarjani” to rehabilitate victims in his constituency Paravur, and the Manappat Foundation was a facilitator.

Satheesan visited several countries to mobilise funds for the project, and a video emerged supposedly showing him soliciting donations in Birmingham, UK for the project.

CPI(M) legislator James Mathew first raised the issue in the Assembly in 2018. Two years later, a member of the Nitta Gelatin Action Council at Chalakudy, Jaison Panikulangara, moved the Kerala High Court seeking a probe, alleging violations of the FCRA by Satheesan. Before that, Panikulangara had approached the Enforcement Directorate and CBI with the same plea, but they did not act on it.

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The Kerala High Court rejected Panikulangara’s petition in 2020 citing the lack of any documentary evidence except for the video clipping.

In 2023, the Kerala government ordered the VACB probe into the matter based on Panikulangara’s complaint. The order for the probe into Satheesan came at a time when the UDF targeted then-CM Pinarayi Vijayan for soliciting sponsorships from US expatriates for a regional meeting of the Loka Kerala Sabha, a conference of non-resident Keralites.

In May 2024, the ED began a probe into Satheesan based on Panikulangara’s complaint.

(With agency inputs)