Convicted ex-Port Trust chairman’s assets attached

According to the ED officials, the corruption charges against Suresh had been proved beyond doubt and the 1982 Madhya Pradesh cadre IAS official had amassed wealth beyond his known sources of income during the period 2004-09, when he held the positions of zonal manager of Food Corporation of India and also chairman of Chennai Port Trust. 

The anti-corruption branch of CBI, which had registered the case against K Suresh and his wife in 2009, had found out that the officer in connivance with various contractors and traders amassed wealth, which was disproportionate to the extent of Rs 2.79 crore to their known sources of income. 

The CBI had raided the office and residences of Suresh and his wife and seized several incriminating documents that proved he had abused his position. After investigations, the CBI filed two chargesheets and the court on completion of hearing had sentenced Suresh to two year’s RI. 

A subsequent investigation by the ED revealed that Suresh laundered the money earned through corruption with the help of Venkataraja, a real estate broker from Rajapalayam, and through various bank accounts operated by one S Jaganathan, proprietor of Landmark Promoters, Chennai, which constructed and promoted various residential complexes. 

Suresh used the accounts operated by Jaganathan to register a land in Kottivakkam in his wife’s name, the ED found out. Suresh also bought a benami property at Kodaikanal with the help of a family friend K P Ramaraja alias Kuwait Raja, a businessman involved in the field of gold and diamond mining in South Africa. Suresh had bought this property in the name of Ramaraja’s brotherin-law P K Ganesh Ram, the ED sources said. 

CBI had also framed many other charges against Suresh. He was accused of taking a sponsorship of Rs 12 lakh from a Vijayashanthi Builders for his son’s BE admission at Anna University. The realtor was running two weigh bridges at Chennai Port at that time. He also faced several allegations during his stint as the head of the Sethusamudram Shipping Corporation and chairman in-charge of Tuticorin Port Trust. 

The Enforcement Directorate, after confirming the charges of money laundering by the said accused, attached three immovable properties belonging to Suresh worth Rs 2.48 crore and also Rs 29 lakh available at the bank accounts.