Swapna drags Madhavan Warrier and KT Jaleel into controversy roiling Kerala

In a significant development, Swapna Suresh, the accused in the Kerala gold smuggling case, recently dragged another new name into the controversy that is rocking the state.

Swapna Suresh alleged that Madhavan Warrier, the former managing director of a Mumbai-based group, Flyjac Logistics, had acted as the benami of MLA and former minister, K T Jaleel. She has levelled this accusation at Warrier and his company in her affidavit submitted before the Ernakulam principal sessions court in the first week of June.

According to Swapna Suresh’s affidavit, Jaleel with the help of his benami, Warrier, had brought in a huge consignment of dates and Quran copies, which came to not just the UAE consulate in Kerala but to consulates in other states in India as well. In her affidavit, she alleged that 17 tonnes of dates received at the consulate at Thiruvananthapuram disappeared and K T Jaleel is the only person who has knowledge about the matter.

The affidavit submitted by Suresh (of which The Federal accessed a copy) stated: “The Consulate General has informed me that K T Jaleel with the help of Madhavan Warrier, who is a benami of K T Jaleel and the owner of FLYJACK Logistics, has handled consignments of dates and Koran, which came at other consulates in other States, as he has done in Kerala and the Consulate General informed me that K T Jaleel has agreed to cooperate with the Consul General to handle future consignments that come to various consulates with the help of Madhavan Warrier”.

Also read: Kerala rocked by protests once again by Swapna Suresh’s allegations

On being dragged into this political drama unfolding in Kerala, Warrier told the media that he had been the MD of Flyjac till 2014 only. Flyjac, a logistics company founded by Warrier in 1990 with a turnover of ₹300 crore, was sold to the  Japanese firm, Hitachi Transport System in 2010. Warrier continued to be the MD till his complete exit in 2014.

A senior personnel at Warrier’s office told The Federal that there is a plausible reason why Warrier’s name was being dragged into the controversy. According to him, HRDS, the NGO where Swapna is currently employed, is taking advantage of the situation and allegedly trying to fish in troubled waters.

After leaving Flyjac Logistics, Warrier, it seems had started a charitable organisation named Kaivalya Foundation, which focuses on housing and education for the poor. Further, he alleged, “We had entered into a collaboration with HRDS to construct houses for tribal people in Attappadi in Kerala. We have completed 192 houses well in time, but HRDS did not make the payment as per the contract. We filed a case in the Mumbai High Court when the cheque they had issued bounced. They are liable to pay us ₹2.5 crores.”

Dragging them into the high-profile gold smuggling case is nothing but an attempt by the HRDS to scare them away from the court case, he alleged. “We will certainly stick to the case and will go ahead with it until they pay the full amount,” he added.

Meanwhile, K T Jaleel explained that he hardly had any financial dealings with Madhavan Warrier. “He used to be a friend, I know him personally. We absolutely have no financial dealings between us. His name must have been dragged into this as a form of revenge by HRDS because of the financial dispute between them,” K T Jaleel told The Federal.

Also read: Don’t try to intimidate: Kerala CM breaks his silence on fresh allegations

The UDF protests demanding the resignation of the chief minister in the light of the allegations raised by Swapna Suresh continues today (June 18). Despite the statement issued by the leader of the Opposition, V D Satheeshan on not trusting Swapna Suresh’s allegations, the Congress march to the secretariat and demonstrations in district capitals is also expected to continue.

Meanwhile, Swapna Suresh’s supporters too may find it hard to believe the allegation that the CM’s wife tried to offer gold and money to the Sharjah ruler. According to Swapna’s affidavit, the bribe was offered to help the CM’s daughter Veena to establish an IT company in Sharjah. She also accused P Sreeramakrishnan, former speaker of the Kerala state assembly, of trying to bribe the Sharjah ruler to set up an educational institution in Sharjah. Both the CM and the former Speaker had sought Swapna’s help, she alleged.

“The Sheikh of Sharjah is a ruler whose wealth is higher than Kerala’s GDP. Raising allegations is fine, but it should be a little bit logical,” said Sreeramakirshnan.

Also read: Kill me, end the story: Gold smuggling accused Swapna Suresh breaks down