The Enforcement Directorate has issued a fresh notice to Veena, daughter of former Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, calling her for a second round of questioning on June 29. The case involves her now-defunct IT firm and mining company Cochin Minerals and Rutile Ltd (CMRL).
Veena was first questioned for over nine hours at the ED’s Kochi office on June 17 in connection with the case registered under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). Following that session, ED officials also inspected Veena’s bank lockers in Thiruvananthapuram on June 19 as part of the ongoing probe.
According to media reports, further questioning was deemed necessary after analysing Veena’s statement and the evidence collected during the investigation. A fresh notice was subsequently issued directing her to appear before the agency on June 29.
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About the case
The ED probe pertains to allegations that Cochin Minerals and Rutile Ltd (CMRL) made payments totalling Rs 2.78 crore to Exalogic Solutions Pvt Ltd, owned by Veena, without receiving any services in return.
The agency has also alleged that Empower India Capital Investments Private Limited, operated by CMRL Managing Director Sasidharan Kartha, extended loans worth Rs 50 lakh to Exalogic despite the firm allegedly failing to repay them on time.
The ED has alleged that Veena and the management of CMRL generated “proceeds of crime” through these transactions.
How the case was registered
The ED registered the money laundering case in March 2024 after taking cognisance of a complaint by the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO), the investigation arm of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs. The SFIO subsequently filed a prosecution complaint before a court in Ernakulam in April 2025.
The SFIO had accused Exalogic and CMRL of entering into an arrangement under which payments were allegedly made without any corresponding services being rendered.
CMRL’s troubled history with investigators
CMRL was caught in the crosshairs of central probe agencies following an Income Tax Department raid in January 2019, which unearthed alleged fake expenses to the tune of Rs 130 crore. Court documents state that the company inflated its expenditure by Rs 133.82 crore by booking bogus cash expenses under the heads of transportation and sludge handling between the financial years 2012-13 and 2018-19. Investigators allege this cash was then used to make illegal payments.
In its prosecution complaint, the SFIO alleged that CMRL created fictitious cash expenses worth Rs 182 crore over a 15-year period to pay bribes to various individuals and entities. The complaint further alleged that the company paid Rs 91 crore towards transport services to companies owned by members of the Kartha family.
Wider net of questioning
The ED’s questioning has not stopped at Veena. On June 22, the ED questioned Kartha’s daughter, followed by the questioning of his son and wife on the following day in connection with the same case.
The agency is also probing Sasja India Private Limited and Empower India Capital Investments Private Limited, two other firms associated with the Kartha family. A special court handling corporate offence cases also rejected CMRL’s plea against sharing documents with the ED, and permitted investigators to access records attached to the SFIO report.
The investigation is ongoing.