The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has summoned Managing Director and Chairman of LuLu Group International, M. A. Yusuff Ali for questioning in connection with its probe in the alleged violation of the Foreign Contribution (Regulations) Act in the Wadakkanchery LIFE Mission housing complex scam.
The LIFE Mission house plan is part of government housing schemes in Kerala to provide shelter to landless and homeless people in Kerala. It’s a joint venture with Kerala government and private firms from United Arab Emirates. The target is to build 4.3 lakh LIFE mission homes in five years. Under the LIFE mission project, housing complexes will be built with all modern amenities and provisions will be made for the beneficiaries, to pursue their livelihoods.
The UAE-based Yusuff Ali, who hails from Kerala, has been called for questioning on March 16 by the ED. According to ED sources, Ali was earlier called on March 1 but did not appear at the ED office.
Ali’s LuLu Group is known for establishing the LuLu Hypermarket chain worldwide and LuLu shopping malls.
On Saturday, the ED arrested M Sivasankar, the former principal secretary to Kerala chief minister, in connection with the Life Mission scam, and was later admitted at the Government Medical College Hospital in Kochi after he complained of uneasiness, sources said.
The Life Mission scam pertains to bribes that were allegedly taken from the builders of the government’s flagship housing project in Wadakkanchery town in Thrissur.
Houses were to be built for 140 families in the region at a cost of Rs 14.50 crore out of the Rs 20 crore granted by the Red Crescent via the UAE consulate.
The CBI had in 2020 filed an FIR in a Kochi court under Section 120B of the Indian Penal Code and Section 35 of FCRA on a complaint by then Congress MLA Anil Akkara, listing Santosh Eappen, the Managing Director of Unitac Builder, as the first accused and Sane Ventures as second accused.
The two companies had undertaken the construction based on the agreement entered with them by Red Crescent, an international humanitarian movement, which had agreed to provide Rs 20 crore towards the Life Mission project.
The Congress has been alleging that there was corruption in the selection of the contractor by Red Crescent.
However, the Life Mission CEO had submitted before the court that Unitac and Sane Ventures had undertaken the construction based on the agreement entered into with them by Red Crescent and had directly accepted foreign contributions from Red Crescent, which is a foreign agency.
The CEO has also contended that the companies which signed an agreement with the Red Crescent do not come under the categories of persons prohibited from receiving any foreign contribution as per Section 3 of FCRA.
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