Veena Vijayan appears before ED again in Exalogic-CMRL money laundering case

Veena T, daughter of former Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, appeared before the Enforcement Directorate in Kochi on Thursday for the second time in a money laundering case linked to her now-defunct IT firm, Exalogic Solutions Pvt Ltd, and Cochin Minerals and Rutile Ltd (CMRL).

She reached the ED office at around 9.20 am, sources said. Veena had earlier been questioned for more than nine hours on June 17 in connection with the case registered under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. Though she was initially asked to appear again on June 29, the date was later advanced, following which she appeared before the agency on Thursday.

On June 19, ED officials inspected Veena's bank lockers in Thiruvananthapuram as part of the investigation. According to ED sources, further questioning was needed after analysing her earlier statement and the evidence gathered during the probe. The agency has also questioned directors and senior officials of CMRL in recent weeks.

The ED is investigating allegations that CMRL paid Rs 2.78 crore to Exalogic Solutions Pvt Ltd, owned by Veena, without receiving any services in return.

According to the agency, another company, Empower India Capital Investments Private Ltd, operated by CMRL Managing Director Sasidharan Kartha, gave loans totalling Rs 50 lakh to Exalogic despite the firm allegedly not repaying them on time.

The ED has alleged that Veena and the management of CMRL generated "proceeds of crime" through these transactions.

The agency registered the case under the PMLA on the basis of a prosecution complaint filed by the Serious Fraud Investigation Office before a court in Ernakulam in April 2025.

The SFIO, the investigation arm of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, alleged that Exalogic and CMRL had an arrangement under which payments were made without any corresponding services being provided.

The ED recently obtained documents collected by the SFIO during its investigation after getting permission from a court in Kochi. CMRL had come under the scrutiny of central agencies after an Income Tax Department search in January 2019 allegedly found financial irregularities, including suspected fictitious expenditure of around Rs 130 crore.

The case centres on alleged financial dealings between Exalogic and CMRL, with the ED continuing its probe through questioning, inspection of documents and other evidence gathered so far.

- Ends