The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has decided to widen its money laundering investigation in the CMRL-Exalogic case, with sources indicating that the probe is likely to extend to current ministers and political leaders.
Following a green signal from the Kerala High Court, the ED is learnt to have decided to broaden the scope of its investigation beyond former Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s family to include all individuals who allegedly received illegal financial payouts from Cochin Minerals and Rutile Limited (CMRL).
The agency aims to trace and question every individual who received funds from CMRL, potentially bringing sitting ministers of the current cabinet under the scanner.
The expanded probe is expected to rely heavily on documents previously seized by the Income Tax Department. The recovered ledgers reportedly detail approximately Rs 135 crore in alleged payments made by CMRL to several political leaders, administrative officials, and media representatives, with many entries recorded using abbreviated pseudonyms.
After a detailed examination of the recovered documents, the Enforcement Directorate had initially planned to question CMRL officials before summoning Veena Vijayan. However, recent reports suggest that the agency may now fast-track her summons in the wake of the violent incidents.