Illegal assets? Case against VS Achuthanandan’s son strong enough to proceed

Thiruvananthapuram: The Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) which probed allegations of financial irregularities against V.A. Arunkumar, son of former chief minister V.S. Achuthanandan, is free to file a case against him, legal experts have opined.

Vigilance director Jacob Thomas will take a decision on proceeding with the case stemming from a mismatch in Arunkumar’s earnings and spending.

The VACB launched an investigation into the finances of Arunkumar during the term of the previous United Democratic Front (UDF) government. Special cell superintendent of police S. Rajendran submitted a report for legal advise in June.

The probe has found that Arunkumar’s earnings did not suffice to fund his expenses including air travels to London, Macau and Singapore during his stint as an additional director of the Institute of Human Resources Development (IHRD).

Arunkumar has also been accused of amassing wealth disproportionate to his known source of income and presiding over financial irregularities as the managing director of Coirfed.

The sleuths calculated the air travel expenses on average as they were not given the details of the specific travels. They did not add up to the incomes and family assets of Arunkumar and his doctor-wife.

The VACB could not complete the probe during the UDF reign. The probe was initially led by superintendent of police V.N. Sasidharan Nair.

His successor Rajendran had summoned Arunkumar for another round of questioning after the Left Democratic Front (LDF) came back to power.