CMRL pay-off case: ED seeks corruption charges against Pinarayi Vijayan, Mohammed Riyas & Veena, DGP receives report

Kochi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has sought registration of a separate corruption case against Opposition Leader and former Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, his son-in-law and MLA P A Mohammed Riyas and daughter T Veena in connection with the alleged monthly pay-off transactions between Cochin Minerals and Rutile Limited (CMRL) and Veena’s now-defunct company, Exalogic Solutions Pvt Ltd.

The agency has written to the state police chief, forwarding its findings and evidence gathered during its investigation under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), and sought registration of a regular First Information Report (FIR) against them under the Prevention of Corruption Act and other relevant penal provisions.

The development marks a significant escalation in the CMRL-Exalogic investigation, which began with allegations that CMRL paid ₹2.78 crore to Veena and her company for IT and consultancy services that were allegedly never provided. The ED has now alleged that the payments were not genuine consultancy fees but were, in effect, bribes routed through Exalogic and other entities.

ED sources confirmed that the agency’s communication was made under Section 66(2) of the PMLA, under which information and evidence relating to offences that fall within the jurisdiction of other investigating agencies can be shared with the appropriate authorities. According to the ED, a detailed report, along with confidential supporting evidence, has been submitted to the DGP.

DGP Ravada A Chandrasekhar told Onmanorama that he has received a 25-page report from the Enforcement Directorate and will take required steps after scrutiny of the report.

ED alleges ₹3.28-crore bribe to Pinarayi
The ED has set out the alleged roles of 13 individuals and entities in its report, which has surfaced. According to the agency’s findings, Pinarayi Vijayan allegedly received ₹3.28 crore as bribe from CMRL through his daughter Veena.

The ED has based this allegation, among other evidence, on the statement of P Suresh Kumar, former Chief Financial Officer and General Manager (Finance) of CMRL. The agency has relied on his statement as a sworn account of the transactions.

The report also names Mohammed Riyas, alleging that he was involved in the receipt of bribes and transfer of such funds to Dubai through Veena and known associates. Veena has been accused of assisting Pinarayi Vijayan and Riyas in the alleged collection and routing of the funds.

The ED has identified Exalogic Solutions as the principal corporate vehicle allegedly used to route what it describes as sham payments. The agency has also listed CMRL Managing Director S N Sasidharan Kartha and former CFO P Suresh Kumar as persons allegedly involved in paying and facilitating the purported bribes.

Empower India Capital Investments Pvt. Ltd., an entity linked to Kartha, has been identified in the report as an entity allegedly used for the transfer of bribe funds.

The report also names several alleged facilitators and handlers, including Shaijal alias Shyjal Mohammed, Nikhil P, Waris alias Hassan Varish, Faijaz V P and Nandulal M, besides “Unknown Others”.

According to the ED, these individuals allegedly assisted Veena and Riyas in the collection and transfer of the funds. The ED has maintained that the payments made to Exalogic did not represent genuine commercial transactions.

The agency’s investigation has alleged that Exalogic lacked the technical capacity to provide the services for which it was paid and that it did not deliver software, ERP solutions or other tangible consultancy outputs to CMRL.

The agency has previously alleged that CMRL paid ₹2.78 cr to Veena and Exalogic between 2016 and 2021, including payments directly to Veena and to her company. An earlier ED report cited CMRL’s former managing director S N Sasidharan Kartha as saying that payments were made to Veena and Exalogic despite no services being rendered, allegedly because of her personal relationship with Pinarayi Vijayan, who was then Chief Minister.

The agency has also alleged that Veena could not produce evidence of tangible work carried out for CMRL against the payments.

Section 66(2) puts focus on state agencies
The ED’s latest move is significant because the agency’s money-laundering investigation is linked to an underlying offence.

Under the PMLA framework, the ED investigates the laundering of proceeds of crime, while offences such as corruption under the Prevention of Corruption Act can require registration and investigation by the appropriate police or other competent agency.

By forwarding its findings under Section 66(2), the ED has placed the alleged predicate offences before the state police for appropriate action.

The Kerala Police or the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) will now have to examine the material and decide on further proceedings, including registration of an FIR if the legal requirements are found to be satisfied.

Investigation widened to money trail
The ED's latest allegations come after the investigation expanded beyond the original payments to Exalogic.

The agency has been examining the subsequent movement of funds, including alleged transfers to Dubai. In August, the ED said handwritten accounts recovered during searches contained details of transactions involving around ₹20.05 crore in Indian currency and AED 3.49 lakh, approximately ₹85 lakh, transferred to Dubai.

The agency has also been examining whether funds connected to the wider financial trail were used in relation to Riyas’ 2021 Assembly election campaign and whether the transactions attracted provisions of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA).

Veena has already been questioned by the ED in connection with the case, while the agency has also examined her bank locker and seized electronic and physical material as part of its investigation.