Thiruvananthapuram: Bringing the curtain down on an eight-year-old controversy, the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) has closed its probe into allegations against Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan over the collection of funds in the UK for rebuilding homes after the devastating 2018 Kerala floods.
Announcing the decision, state Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala on Thursday said the Vigilance probe had found no evidence whatsoever of any wrongdoing by the Chief Minister and that the case had been formally wound up after the VACB Director submitted his final report.
“There is no Vigilance angle in the matter, and the case has been closed. It is now clear that this was a politically motivated case born out of vendetta,” Chennithala told reporters.
The Home Minister said he had personally examined the file in detail and found nothing linking Satheesan to any illegality.
He pointed out that two separate inquiries conducted during the previous Pinarayi Vijayan government had also failed to uncover any incriminating material, a position now reaffirmed by the VACB’s final report.
The allegations stemmed from Satheesan’s efforts to mobilise financial assistance from the Malayali diaspora in the UK for constructing houses for families devastated by the 2018 floods.
The complaint alleged that nearly Rs 20 lakh was collected through the Manappattu Foundation, with the money routed via the UK-based Midland International Aid Trust into the foundation’s FCRA account.
The Vigilance complaint argued that the transfer of GBP 22,500 (around Rs 19.95 lakh) amounted to a violation of Section 3 of the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA), which bars politicians from accepting foreign contributions.
However, after multiple rounds of scrutiny over the years, investigators found no material to establish criminality or any Vigilance offence against Satheesan, paving the way for the closure of the case.
The controversy first surfaced when former CPI(M) legislator James Mathew raised the issue, following which the then Left government initiated Vigilance proceedings.
Throughout the prolonged investigation, Satheesan consistently maintained both inside the Assembly and in public that he had acted solely to secure humanitarian assistance for flood victims and had committed no wrongdoing.
With the VACB now drawing the investigation to a close, the case that had shadowed Satheesan’s public life for nearly eight years has effectively ended, allowing the Chief Minister to claim complete vindication in one of the longest-running political controversies linked to the 2018 flood rehabilitation efforts.
(IANS)
