KOCHI: The officials of the enforcement recorded the statement of chartered accountant Venugopal Iyer in the gold smuggling case. Venugopal was questioned in the presence of Sivasankar, who is in their custody. There have been major discrepancies in the statements of Sivasankar and the chartered accountant in the gold smuggling case. He was questioned to know about it.

It is learned that Venugopal had told them that Sivasankar is his longtime friend and that he interfered in the transaction as per his instruction. He said that initially Swapna brought 34 lakh to invest. Sivasankar had earlier mentioned the amount as 30 lakh.

Sivasankar had asserted that Swapna Suresh is his friend and should put some money in the bank. The money was kept in the locker by Swapna and Venugopal. Sivasankar had earlier told the ED that he is not aware of the money and everything was dealt between Swapna and Venugopal. However, Venugopal’s statement was different. Swapna had informed Sivasankar each time she took the money. When Venugopal asked to close the locker, Sivasankar said that he will inform Swapna. The chartered accountant had told the ED that Swapna told him that some of her gold are in the locker and will take it some other time. However, the enforcement is of the view that Venugopal need not be named accused in the case now. He is likely to turn as the main witness in the case.