The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is set to expand its investigation into the CMRL-Exalogic financial transactions case to include PA Mohammed Riyas, a former minister and husband of Veena T (Veena Vijayan), daughter of former Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
File Photo: IANS
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is set to expand its investigation into the CMRL-Exalogic financial transactions case to include PA Mohammed Riyas, a former minister and husband of Veena T (Veena Vijayan), daughter of former Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
According to the agency, Veena received Rs 2.78 crore from CMRL without providing any actual services and has failed to present valid financial documentation to back the transactions. Due to major inconsistencies in her previous two statements and a lack of clarity regarding the use of the funds, the ED is now widening its investigation to include her husband, Mohammed Riyas, and other family members.
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Veena received funds from CMRL between 2017 and 2020 before marrying Mohammed Riyas in June 2020. Suspecting that this money might have been shared after their wedding, the ED plans to scrutinise Riyas’s bank accounts. The upcoming stage of the investigation will specifically target Riyas’s assets and financial records.
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The ED is also examining whether provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act are applicable in the case by assessing whether the Rs.2.78 crore paid by CMRL to Veena Vijayan’s firm, Exalogic Solutions, constitutes a “kickback” or “bribe” to influence the government.
The central agency is examining whether the first Pinarayi Vijayan-led government granted undue official favours or illicit concessions to Cochin Minerals and Rutile Limited (CMRL) in exchange for the financial payouts made to Exalogic Solutions.
The agency is also examining whether former Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan played any role in the matter.
The ED investigation, registered under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), centres on allegations that Cochin Minerals and Rutile Ltd (CMRL) made illegal, fraudulent payments worth Rs 2.78 crore to Veena’s now-defunct IT firm, Exalogic Solutions, under the guise of IT consultancy services that were never actually rendered.
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