CMRL-Exalogic case: ED quizzes CMRL MD’s son

Kochi: Enforcement Directorate on Monday questioned Saran S Kartha, joint managing director (MD) of Cochin Minerals and Rutile Ltd (CMRL), in connection with the CMRL-Exalogic case.Saran appeared before ED at its Kochi zonal office on Monday morning.

ED had earlier questioned him in the case on June 16. Saran is the son of CMRL founder MD S N Sasidharan Kartha. ED had earlier questioned Kartha’s wife and daughter too as part of the investigation.ED has also questioned Veena T, daughter of leader of opposition Pinarayi Vijayan, in connection with the case twice.A Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) probe into CMRL revealed alleged fraudulent cash expenses of Rs 182 crore over a span of 15 years.

ED’s allegation is that one of the fake expenses booked by CMRL was toward a payment to Veena.ED claims that her company, Exalogic Solutions Pvt Ltd, allegedly received fraudulent payments totalling Rs 2.78 crore from CMRL under the guise of IT consultancy services.Further, ED says that Empower India Capital Investment Pvt Ltd (EICPL), operated by Sasidharan Kartha, extended loans to Exalogic totalling Rs 50 lakh despite Exalogic failing to make timely repayments.