Disproportionate assets case: CBI files FIR against Kerala CM’s Chief Principal Secy

KOCHI: The Central Bureau of Investigation’s Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) in Kochi has registered a First Information Report (FIR) against KM Abraham, Chief Principal Secretary to the Kerala Chief Minister and CEO of the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB), following serious allegations of criminal misconduct and illicit wealth accumulation.

The FIR is in compliance with a directive from earlier this month by the Kerala High Court and was registered on April 25 by an Assistant Superintendent of Police with the ACB in Kochi. On April 11, the court, noting prima facie evidence against Abraham under the Prevention of Corruption Act provisions, directed the registration of a case and a full-fledged probe.

The move is based on a complaint made by whistleblower Jomon Puthenpurakkal, who had come to the court accusing Abraham of accumulating wealth disproportionate to his known sources of income from 2003 to 2015.

Based on the FIR, the alleged assets accumulated are a luxury apartment in Thycaud worth Rs 1 crore, another house in Kohinoor City, Mumbai, worth approximately Rs 3 crore, and a commercial shopping complex in Kadappakada, Kollam, valued at Rs 8 crore.

Earlier, the case had been enquired into by the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) after a directive from a Special Judge. Nevertheless, the initial inquiry by VACB had found that there was no concrete evidence against Abraham, and consequently, the complaint was dismissed by the Special Judge in 2017.

The complainant later moved additional legal remedies, which encouraged the Kerala High Court to revisit the issue. Overturning the special judge’s previous ruling, the High Court directed the CBI to take up the case, instructing the VACB to send all of the associated files to the CBI.