Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala government, on Tuesday, decided to investigate into the alleged financial transactions between Cochin Minerals and Rutile Limited (CMRL) and Exalogic Solutions Pvt Ltd, the now-defunct company of Veena T, daughter of Opposition Leader and former Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.

The investigation will also examine allegations concerning Vijayan and his son-in-law and former minister P A Mohammed Riyas, following a recommendation from the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala said the Director General of Police had received the ED's communication and forwarded it to the Home Secretary. The Home Department subsequently sought the Advocate General's legal opinion on the matter.

"Based on the legal opinion received two days ago, I met the Chief Minister this morning. The DGP has been directed to investigate the details related to this case. An order to this effect will be released soon," Chennithala said.

He added that two legal aspects were considered before the government decided to proceed.

"One, the ED has the right to provide a complaint. According to Section 66(2) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), they have to furnish the information they collected to a law-enforcement agency. They handed over the letter on that basis. When such a complaint comes up, the government cannot ignore it in view of a Supreme Court order," he said.

The second issue concerned the procedure to be followed before registering an FIR. Chennithala referred to the Supreme Court's Lalita Kumari vs Government of UP judgment and said a preliminary investigation could be conducted before registration of a case or FIR and this was required to prove that there was a cognisable offence which warranted an investigation.

The AG has also communicated that a quick verification may be done before an inquiry under the Prevention of Corruption Act. The State Police Chief will now decide if the Crime Branch or Vigilance should be entrusted with the probe.

The ED had recommended that a case be registered under the Prevention of Corruption Act based on material gathered during its investigation into the CMRL-Exalogic transactions during Vijayan's tenure as Chief Minister. The central agency has alleged that CMRL made payments totalling about ₹2.78 crore to Exalogic, purportedly for IT consultancy services. The ED has also alleged that the payments were part of a larger bribery arrangement. These are allegations made by the agency and are yet to be established through the investigation or judicial process.

The ED has also sought action against Vijayan, Veena, Riyas and others under the Prevention of Corruption Act based on material gathered during its money-laundering investigation. The agency's communication to the State Police Chief included findings relating to alleged financial transactions and other evidence gathered during the probe. Vijayan has rejected the ED's allegations and described the agency's action as politically motivated.