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Kerala CM’s daughter may face summons in CMRL pay-off case

The decision will be made after reviewing the prosecution complaint (charge sheet) filed by the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO).

Kerala CM’s daughter may face summons in CMRL pay-off case

Veena Vijayan (File photo:ANI)

Additional District and Sessions Court in Ernakulam is set to decide on Monday whether to issue summons to Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s daughter, Veena Thaikandiyil (also known as Veena Vijayan), and other accused individuals in the Cochin Minerals and Rutile Limited (CMRL) pay-off case.

The decision will be made after reviewing the prosecution complaint (charge sheet) filed by the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO).

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The charge sheet, submitted by the SFIO at the Principal District and Sessions Court, Ernakulam, names Veena Vijayan, her company Exalogic Solutions, CMRL Managing Director Sasidharan Kartha, and others. It was handed over to the Additional District and Sessions Court, Ernakulam—designated as the trial court in this case—on Friday.

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The SFIO has charged Veena Vijayan, her firm Exalogic Solutions, CMRL MD Sasidharan Kartha, and others in the case related to fraudulent financial transactions involving CMRL. The charges were officially filed on Wednesday.

Veena Vijayan has been booked under Section 447 (Punishment for Fraud) of the Companies Act, 2013. The offense carries a minimum imprisonment of six months and may extend up to ten years.

The charge sheet accuses Veena of fraudulently receiving a payment of Rs 2.7 crore from CMRL to her company without rendering any services in return. On April 3, the Delhi High Court dismissed a petition by CMRL seeking a stay on the ongoing SFIO investigation.

The SFIO has also registered multiple charges under the Companies Act, 2013, against various accused persons in connection with the fraudulent transactions.

Previously, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs granted permission to initiate prosecution proceedings against Veena Vijayan in the CMRL monthly payment case, based on the SFIO’s findings. Approval was also granted to prosecute CMRL MD Sasidharan Kartha and Chief General Manager (Finance) P Suresh Kumar, among others.

Meanwhile, the SFIO is preparing to file a second prosecution complaint against Veena Vijayan. It is reported that the complaint will be submitted to a Bengaluru court handling SFIO cases.

This upcoming charge sheet will reportedly name Exalogic Solutions, owned by Veena Vijayan, as the key accused. The SFIO alleges that Exalogic cheated Empower India Capital Investment Private Limited, a sister company of CMRL, by securing a loan and subsequently shutting down operations.

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