The Enforcement Directorate (ED) broadened the scope of its probe into the CMRL payoff case to investigate if the first Pinarayi Vijayan government granted favours in exchange for payments to Exalogic Solutions, the company owned by the former CM’s daughter.
Following a gruelling nine-hour interrogation of Veena T(Veena Vijayan) in Kochi on Thursday, the ED is investigating whether monthly payments to her firm were tied to reciprocal corporate favours. The agency is actively investigating whether the financial payouts made to Exalogic Solutions—allegedly without rendering any actual IT consultancy services—constituted illegal gratification or kickbacks for mining concessions granted during the first Pinarayi Vijayan government.
The ED suspects whether payments made by Cochin Minerals and Rutile Ltd (CMRL) to Exalogic Solutions, the IT firm owned by Veena Vijayan may have been bribes for governmental favours. As part of this expanded probe, the agency is heavily scrutinizing official decisions and transactions from the first Pinarayi Vijayan-led government .
The investigation focuses on claims that CMRL moved crores of rupees to Exalogic for allegedly fabricated IT and consultancy services. Authorities are evaluating if these payments represent proceeds of crime under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
The ED is examining whether the former LDF administration extended illegitimate, improper business benefits to Cochin Minerals and Rutile Limited (CMRL).
Investigators noted substantial mismatches and contradictions between Veena’s statement and those given by senior officials of Cochin Minerals and Rutile Limited (CMRL).
The ED has found that there is no clarity on how the Rs.2.78 crore received by Veena’s defunct IT firm, Exalogic Solutions, from CMRL was utilized. The ED recently secured 134 critical documents comprising over 15,000 pages from the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO). The agency is utilising these files to cross-verify financial inconsistencies.
Due to remaining discrepancies in Veena’s statements, a fresh notice for a third round of questioning is expected to be issued soon to her. Veena has already undergone two rounds of rigorous questioning by the ED: the first on June 17, 2026, and the second on June 25, 2026.
The ED has inspected Veena’s bank lockers in Thiruvananthapuram and frozen multiple associated accounts
The ED investigation, registered under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), centers 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.
The agency is also probing loans worth Rs 50 lakh extended by Empower India Capital Investments Pvt Ltd to Exalogic in two instalments, including why a second loan was sanctioned despite an alleged default in repayment of the first.
The involvement of CMRL-linked Nipuna International Pvt Ltd, which is named in the case records, is also being probed by the ED.