In a major setback to K.M. Abraham, Chief Principal Secretary to Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and erstwhile Chief Secretary, the Kerala High Court has directed a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) enquiry into his assets.
The order comes in a petition filed by well-known public activist Joemon Puthenpurackal, who has long accused Abraham of amassing wealth out of proportion to his declared income.
After the Friday court ruling, Abraham reacted in a positive way, saying he "wholeheartedly welcomes" the CBI probe.
The petition, led by Puthenpurackal, accused Abraham of knowingly hiding assets and evading questioning all these years. "He did everything possible to wriggle out, but the High Court has now taken note of the facts and ordered a CBI inquiry," Puthenpurackal told the press. Comparing to the controversial case of M. Sivasankar, one more former principal secretary who is under investigation, Puthenpurackal added, "He will now be another Sivasankar, as he also abused his power to stifle any investigation."
Now a CEO of Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB) besides holding an advisory position to the CM, Abraham has played leading roles in both state and central governance. He was Kerala's Chief Secretary until December 2017, when he retired, and is most famously known for his stint at the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) from 2008 through 2011. At SEBI, Abraham headed important departments such as secondary markets, surveillance, and international affairs. He was instrumental in bringing irregularities related to the Sahara Group to light, a case which led to the recovery of more than ₹15,000 crore as of March 2021—one of India's biggest ever enforcement orders in the history of Indian financial markets.
Former Vigilance Director Jacob Thomas, who had attempted to investigate Abraham back in 2016, also weighed in on the High Court’s decision. “I initiated a probe against him while in office, but Abraham used his influence to obstruct the investigation,” Thomas said. He questioned Abraham’s continued role in the CM’s office, calling on the Chief Minister to explain why Abraham remains in a key position.
Abraham owns properties in Mumbai, Thiruvananthapuram, and Kollam, according to Puthenpurackal. He further adds that Abraham repays monthly loan EMIs that are more than what he has earned—something he has testified to with documents gathered over almost a decade.
Puthenpurackal, who was known for his persistent efforts to get justice in many high-profile cases, initially gained public fame for his fight in the 1992 Sister Abhaya murder case. He constituted an action council and agitated for years to apprehend the culprits. It took him almost three decades, but two Catholic priests and a nun were finally convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment.
The CBI will now start probing Abraham's books of accounts, yet another high-profile case in Kerala's administrative and political circles.
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