New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has widened its probe into the CMRL-Exalogic case, turning the spotlight from former Keralam chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s daughter T Veena and her firm to the CPI(M) leader himself. The probe agency has claimed that Vijayan was the ultimate beneficiary of the money which was allegedly routed from Kochi-based Cochin Minerals and Rutile Limited (CMRL) to Exalogic Solutions Private Ltd, a now-defunct one-person company owned by Veena.
“The verification of the bank statements shows that T Veena and her company received a total of Rs 3.28 crore from CMRL. The investigation shows that the amounts were received without any services being rendered. The amounts received are nothing but bribe payments received on behalf of her father, P Vijayan,” the ED said in its communication to Keralam DGP Ravada Azad Chandrasekhar earlier this month. ThePrint has seen a copy of the letter.
According to the agency, of the Rs 3.28 crore, Rs 45 lakh was paid directly to Veena as salary. It added that CMRL had engaged Veena because of the “public relations avenues” available to her by virtue of her father’s position as chief minister.
It said the “bribes” were explicitly masked by specific terms used in CMRL’s hiring letter. “The individual appointment/engagement letter dated 30.12.2016 recorded that T Veena was being hired ‘considering the infrastructure and public relations avenues she and her establishment have’. This documentation confirms that the phrase ‘public relations avenues’ was nothing but bribes paid to the former chief minister through his daughter,” the agency said.
Vijayan was the state’s chief minister for two consecutive terms from 2016 to 2026.
The findings shared with the Keralam DGP mark a significant expansion of the probe, which had so far largely centred on Veena, Exalogic and their financial dealings with CMRL. The ED has sought registration of a case under provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act against Vijayan, Veena, and her husband and former minister P.A. Mohammed Riyas.
ThePrint has reached out to Vijayan with queries via email, and to Riyas and CPI(M) general secretary M.A. Baby over WhatsApp and calls. This report will be updated if and when a response is received.
The DGP forwarded the communication to the state Home Department, and the V.D. Satheesan-led Congress government Wednesday ordered a probe into the allegations of corruption in the ED’s report.
“Upon examination of the report shared with the government by the ED, a legal opinion was sought by the department. The legal opinion, including that of the state’s top legal officer, suggested conducting a probe into the allegations,” a source in the state Home Department told ThePrint.
Meanwhile, Keralam Police officials said that a preliminary enquiry has been initiated to examine the facts and evidence provided by the ED, and that a decision on whether to register an FIR will be based on the findings.
“The offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act allow a preliminary enquiry to ascertain the facts and materials brought to the notice of the investigating officer,” a police officer privy to the mandate of the SIT told ThePrint, requesting anonymity. “The findings of the PE dictate the directions of the probe and the same would happen in this case too.”
The ED’s communication to the state police stems from a money laundering probe launched on the basis of a Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) probe into CMRL’s alleged corrupt practices.
In its complaint filed before a court in Keralam, the SFIO alleged that CMRL incurred fictitious cash expenses of Rs 182 crore over 15 years, which were allegedly used to bribe various persons. One such expense was the payment of Rs 2.78 crore to Veena’s one-person company, Exalogic Solutions Private Limited, allegedly in the guise of IT consultancy services.
However, in its letter to the state police, the ED claimed that it had unearthed facts beyond the scope of the SFIO probe, which was limited to corporate fraud and did not cover offences involving bribe collection by public servants—which come under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
“While the existing investigations relate to corporate fraud and siphoning of funds from a public company based on the predicate offence filed by SFIO, there are other offences found to be made out during the PMLA [Prevention of Money Laundering Act] investigations which are not covered by the existing predicate offence. Many amounts are received by public servants for favouring CMRL as bribes, and the same constitutes a separate offence for which a separate predicate offence needs to be registered,” the ED said in its communication.
Former minister questions ED’s probe
Meanwhile, addressing mediapersons over the case, Riyas raised questions about the agency’s investigation and the recording of statements that form the basis of the case against him and his family.
“I only have the information that was circulating on TV. It is an official investigation, so I will have to discuss it with the lawyers before commenting. Not everything can be shared at this time. But I will repeat what I have already said. There has been no wrongdoing, so I will be proceeding with utmost confidence,” Riyas told reporters.
He added that the manner of ED’s investigation in cases have been strongly criticised across the country by Opposition parties with Congress at the forefront of these criticisms “People will definitely be wondering why the same Congress-led government is now allowing an investigation based on an ED report. The rest will be discussed by our party secretary,” said Riyas.
His comments came after state Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala said the state government’s decision to order a probe was driven by “legal obligations, not political motive”.
Earlier, Baby had also questioned both the ED’s probe and the UDF government’s move of ordering a police inquiry into the agency’s allegations.
“This has to be faced legally and politically. There have been many instances of the ED being used to achieve the BJP’s political objectives,” Baby had told reporters in New Delhi earlier this week. He further said that the UDF government in Keralam has taken a different stand than the Congress leadership at the national level. “In Keralam, a strange situation has emerged where the state government appears to be joining hands with the (Narendra) Modi-led government in targeting the CPI(M),” he alleged.
This is an updated version of the report.
(Edited by Chingkheinganbi Mayengbam)
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