The Ernakulam Additional Sessions Court on Tuesday ordered the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) to provide a copy of the charge sheet in the Cochin Minerals and Rutile Ltd.(CMRL)-Exalogic case, which names Veena Vijayan, daughter of Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan , among the accused, to the Enforcement Directorate (ED)
Following the submission of the prosecution complaint(charge sheet )by the SFIO in the case, the ED had filed an application requesting a copy of the same .
The ED’s further action will be based on an examination of the evidence, including the statements submitted along with the charge sheet.
Accepting the prosecution complaint (charge sheet), the court found that sections 129 (7) (for not producing financial statements that reflect the tru nature of the company), 134(8) (penalties for non-compliance with the provisions of Section 134), 447 (corporate fraud), and 448 (punishment for making false statements in legally required documents) of the Companies Act, 2013, would apply to the accused.The offences listed in the SFIO’s charge-sheet reportedly also include violations under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
An earlier probe by the Income Tax Department and the subsequent order by the Income Tax Interim Settlement Board(ITISB) had concluded that Rs 1.72 crore was received by Veena Vijayan and her company without rendering any services. Investigations found that private mineral company CMRL committed a fraud amounting to Rs 197.7 crore, which included payments to Veena, her company, and other political figures.
As per the SFIO charge sheet, Veena is booked under Section 447 of the Companies Act. The same charge has been levelled against CMRL managing director and others
It is learnt that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) is planning to register a fresh Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) against the Chief Minister’s daughter, Veena Vijayan and others based on the Serious Fraud Investigation Office’s (SFIO) prosecution complaint(charge sheet) in the Cochin Minerals and Rutile Ltd.(CMRL) case.
The ECIR is almost similar to a First Information Report (FIR) filed by the police for cognizable offences.