Thiruvananthapuram: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has issued show-cause notices to four parties, including Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, in connection with alleged money laundering and violations linked to the KIIFB masala bond transaction. The notices, which do not require personal appearance, were issued on November 12, the agency said.

Show-cause notices have been served to the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB), its Chief Executive Officer K M Abraham, Vice Chairman and former Finance Minister T M Thomas Isaac, and the Chief Minister in his capacity as the chair of the board. According to sources, the noticees received the communication only two days ago.

According to the ED, KIIFB raised ₹2,672.80 crore through rupee-denominated masala bonds listed on the London and Singapore stock exchanges under the External Commercial Borrowing (ECB) route. The agency alleges that ₹466.91 crore from the funds was used for land acquisition, which it says is prohibited under RBI rules and violates FEMA guidelines, including Master Direction No. 5/2015-16 and subsequent RBI circulars.

The complaint under the Foreign Exchange Management Act was filed on June 27, 2025, and the adjudicating authority issued the notices following cognisance of the case. 

Reacting to the development, Thomas Isaac confirmed receiving the notice and dismissed the allegations. “This is nonsense. We never used the fund for land purchases. Acquisition for KIIFB projects followed all norms. This notice is an election stunt,” he said.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister’s Additional Private Secretary CM Raveendran told Onmanorama that he was not aware of the ED notice. Onmanorama also contacted KIIFB CEO Abraham, but he did not respond.

Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala accused the Chief Minister and KIIFB leadership of large-scale financial irregularities and alleged that a company linked to the Lavalin case was involved in the transaction.

The ED began investigating the masala bond issue in 2021 and summoned Isaac in 2024, alleging serious rule violations. He had skipped two summons and challenged the ED’s move before the Kerala High Court.