Kerala monthly pay-off case: ED summons CMRL official

Kerala monthly pay-off case: ED summons CMRL official

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) summoned an official of the Cochin Minerals and Rutile Limited (CMRL) for questioning on the monthly pay-off case involving the firm owned by Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s daughter Veena Vijayan.

The CMRL official is in charge of the financial matters of the company. He was asked to appear before the agency’s office in Kochi for interrogation on Thursday.

It is learnt that the probe agency may soon summon the chief minister’s daughter for interrogation in the case. CMRL Managing Director Sasidharan Kartha may also be questioned by the ED soon.

The Income Tax Interim Settlement Board (ITSIB) earlier found that Veena and her firm Exalogic Solutions received Rs 1.72 crore as monthly payments from the CMRL despite there being no evidence of any services given in return.

The Kochi unit of the ED in March 2024 registered an Enforcement Case Investigation Report (ECIR), similar to a first information report (FIR) in criminal cases, against Veena’s company under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 and started a probe into the transactions. The anti-money laundering agency had conducted preliminary investigations into the matter before registering the ECIR.

The Central agency has acted on the basis of a report by the ITSIB in August 2023 stating that Veena and her firm Exalogic Solutions had received Rs.1.72 crore as monthly payments from the CMRL despite there being no evidence of any services given in return.

The ED probe will include the individuals and entities on the record of the ITSIB order. Besides Veena Vijayan, the role of CMRL and the Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation (KSIDC), which holds 13.4 per cent shares in CMRL, will also come under the ambit of probe.

The ITISB report revealed that the CMRL had paid money to other political leaders and trade union leaders as well. The investigation is also likely to cover other persons who received money from CMRL. The ITISB had found that CMRL had disbursed Rs 135 crore to political leaders and others after 2016.

The probe by the ED coincides with an ongoing investigation by the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO).

The Ministry of Corporate Affairs in January 2024 issued an order handing over the probe into the affairs of Exalogic Solutions, the firm owned by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s daughter Veena Vijayan, as well as Cochin Minerals and Rutile Ltd (CMRL) and Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation Industrial( KSIDC) to the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO).

The Karnataka High Court had in February dismissed the petition filed by the firm Exalogic Solutions, owned by Veena Vijayan questioning the action of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) ordering a probe by the SFIO into the affairs of the company.