Replying to Kerala Legislative Ethics Committee’s notice, the Enforcement Directorate replied that there had been no breach of privilege since Life Mission is “only an instrumentality of the state government”. Over a week ago, the Assembly’s Ethics Committee had issued a notice to the ED asking why the agency sought files of the Life Mission project from the state government. They also alleged that the ED’s decision was a breach of privilege.
The ED, in their reply, noted that there was no breach in privilege since the Life Mission project was only an instrumentality of the state government and did not warrant the privileges. Moreover, they added that various central agencies following the gold smuggling case had pointed out the money laundering aspect of the case, leading to many other projects. The ED’s investigation began to track the case after “reporting of financial irregularities involving individual, private, and state government entities including ‘Life Mission Society’, which prima facie appear to attract the offences of money laundering…”
The agency also pointed out that they had the authority to investigate instances or suspicions concerning money laundering in the country. Given below is the full report as submitted by the Directorate.
