The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has sent a detailed report to the State Police Chief of Keralam seeking registration of a separate first information report (FIR) under the Prevention of Corruption Act and other relevant laws against Leader of the Opposition and former Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, former Public Works Minister P.A. Mohamed Riyas, and T. Veena, who is Mr. Vijayan’s daughter and Mr. Riyas’s spouse, in the Exalogic–Cochin Minerals and Rutile Limited (CMRL) pay-off case.

The report, which was sent on Monday (September 7, 2026) reportedly stated that the evidence recovered by the Central agency in the case under Section 66(2) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) warranted registration of a case.

The CPI(M) has been on a collision course with the ED, accusing the agency of carrying out a political hit job targeting Mr. Vijayan and his family on behalf of the Central government.

Sources in ED said it would carry out a thorough corruption-related investigation once an FIR has been registered.

Charges in ED report

The report accused Mr. Vijayan of receiving a bribe of ₹3.28 crore through his daughter, based on the alleged admission of CMRL’s former Chief Financial Officer Suresh Kumar. Mr. Riyas was accused of “receipt of bribes and transfer of such bribe funds to Dubai through Veena and known associates.” Ms. Veena allegedly “assisted Mr. Vijayan and Mr. Riyas in collecting and routing bribe funds.” Exalogic Solutions Private Limited was allegedly used for “routing sham payments.” S.N. Sasidharan Kartha, Managing Director of CMRL, was accused of paying bribes, while CMRL’s sister concern Empower India Capital Investments Private Limited was accused of transferring bribes.

Last month, the ED claimed to have found “certain handwritten accounts maintained by Ms. Veena pertaining to ₹85 lakh allegedly transferred to Dubai.” The notes contained “names of persons, amounts handled, spent” besides the amount transferred to Dubai. All persons named in Ms. Veena’s handwritten accounts, along with the individual who had provided the SIM card, were covered during the search, according to an ED release.

The Kochi zonal office of the ED had conducted search operations at nine premises in Kozhikode on August 18 under the PMLA in connection with the case.

In May, the ED claimed to have frozen ₹18.36 crore across 242 accounts identified during search operations at multiple locations, including Mr. Vijayan’s rented house in Thiruvananthapuram and his ancestral home in Kannur.

The agency launched the investigation following findings of the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) into alleged corporate fraud and bribe payments. SFIO investigations revealed fictitious cash expenses of ₹182 crore made by CMRL over a span of 15 years, allegedly used to bribe various persons, the ED said.

One of the fake expenses booked by CMRL was towards payments made to Ms. Veena. Exalogic Solutions Private Limited, the now-defunct company owned by her, had allegedly received fraudulent payments totalling ₹2.78 crore from CMRL under the guise of IT consultancy services.

Additionally, Empower India Capital Investments Private Limited, operated by Sasidharan Kartha, extended loans of ₹50 lakh to Exalogic despite the firm failing to make timely repayments, the SFIO alleged.

A day after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) obtained copies of 134 documents collected by the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) in connection with the Cochin Minerals and Rutile Limited (CMRL) pay‑off case, T. Veena, daughter of former Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, appeared for questioning at the Kochi zonal office of the agency on Thursday (June 25, 2026) morning.

This is the second time she is being questioned this month. Earlier, she was interrogated for nearly eight hours on June 17, 2026. A day prior to that, the ED had questioned Shiby S. Kartha, daughter of Sasidharan Kartha and director of an associated firm of CMRL; Saran S. Kartha, joint managing director of CMRL; and Jaya S. Kartha, wife of Sasidharan Kartha, in her capacity as director of Empower India Capital Investments Private Limited (EICIPL).

Following her initial round of questioning, the ED inspected Ms. Veena’s bank lockers in Thiruvananthapuram on June 19. Subsequently, the agency issued a fresh summons directing her to appear on June 29 in connection with the money-laundering probe into the CMRL pay-off case. However, Thursday’s questioning appears to have been prompted by the receipt of documents from the SFIO.

A special court in Ernakulam had earlier permitted the Central agency to access the SFIO’s documents, which related to alleged fictitious expenses submitted by CMRL before the Income Tax Interim Settlement Board. These included records of payments amounting to ₹2.78 crore made by CMRL to Exalogic, Ms. Veena’s now-defunct company. The SFIO, under the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, found that the money was transferred without any services being rendered in return.

The SFIO investigation had further revealed fictitious cash expenses of about ₹182 crore over a span of 15 years, allegedly used by CMRL to bribe various individuals.

The ED case stems from a prosecution complaint filed by the SFIO before a court in Ernakulam in April 2025. According to the SFIO, Exalogic and CMRL allegedly entered into an arrangement under which payments were made without any corresponding services being provided.

Continuing its probe into the alleged pay-off case involving Cochin Minerals and Rutile Ltd. (CMRL) and former Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s daughter T. Veena, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has started questioning the CMRL Chief Financial Officer K.S. Suresh Kumar.

Mr. Kumar appeared at the ED Kochi zonal office on Monday (June 22, 2026) around 11 a.m. He had deposed before the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) and had reportedly shared critical information. SFIO under the Ministry of Corporate Affairs had allegedly uncovered fictitious cash expenses of ₹182 crore generated by the CMRL over a span of 15 years, which was reportedly used to bribe various persons.

The financial manager and a senior clerk of CMRL are also likely to appear before the ED on Tuesday (June 23, 2026). The investigative agency has issued a fresh notice to Ms. Veena to appear for another round of questioning on June 29. The fresh summons comes close on the heels of the ED officials inspecting Ms. Veena’s bank lockers in Thiruvananthapuram on June 19. The ED seems determined to amass maximum possible evidence from the related parties before her questioning.

Initially, she was questioned for about eight hours on June 17, 2026. A day before, the ED had questioned Shiby S. Kartha, daughter of Mr. Sasidharan Kartha and director of an associated firm of the CMRL; Saran S. Kartha, joint managing director of the CMRL; and Jaya S. Kartha, wife of Mr. Sasidharan Kartha, in her capacity as director of the EICIPL.

The ED probe pertains to allegations that CMRL made payments totalling ₹2.78 crore to the now-defucnt Exalogic Solutions Pvt. Ltd., owned by Ms. Veena, without receiving any services in return. The ED is also reportedly probing loans worth ₹50 lakh extended to Exalogic by Empower India Capital Investments Pvt. Ltd. (EICIPL) operated by Mr. Sasidharan Kartha, despite her company failing to make timely repayments.

The ED case stems from a prosecution complaint filed by the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) before a court in Ernakulam in April 2025. According to the the SFIO, the investigation arm of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Exalogic and CMRL allegedly entered into an arrangement under which payments were made without any corresponding services being rendered.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED), which is probing a money laundering case involving minerals company CMRL, has issued a fresh summons to Veena T, daughter of former Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, directing her to appear for questioning on June 17, sources said on Friday (June 12, 2026).

The ED had earlier asked Ms. Veena to appear before its Kochi unit on Friday.

However, following an email from Ms. Veena seeking more time, citing health issues, the agency issued a fresh summons, sources said.

The ED has asked Ms. Veena to appear at its Kochi office at 10 am on June 17, along with relevant documents related to transactions involving her now-defunct IT firm, Exalogic Solutions Private Limited.

The probe pertains to allegations that Cochin Minerals and Rutile Ltd (CMRL) made payments amounting to ₹2.78 crore to Exalogic without receiving any services in return.

According to the ED, another company, Empower India Capital Investments Private Limited (EICPL), operated by CMRL managing director Sasidharan Kartha, had extended loans worth ₹50 lakh to Exalogic despite the company allegedly failing to make timely repayments.

The agency has alleged that Ms. Veena and the management of CMRL, led by Mr. Kartha, generated “proceeds of crime” through these transactions.

The ED registered a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) on the basis of a prosecution complaint filed by the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) before a court in Ernakulam in April 2025.

The SFIO is the investigation arm of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs.

CMRL came under the scanner of Central agencies following an Income Tax department raid in January 2019, which allegedly detected financial irregularities, including certain expenses suspected to be fictitious and amounting to around ₹130 crore.

CPI(M) workers staged a strong protest march following on going raid by the Enforcement Directorate at the house of Opposition leader and former Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s house at Pinarayi in Kannur in connection with the money laundering investigation into financial transactions between Cochin Minerals and Rutile Limited and Exalogic Solutions.

The CPI(M) leadership strongly condemned the searches, challenging that the BJP-led union government was using Central agencies to target opposition leaders through politically motivated actions. Senior party leaders in Pinarayi said the ED action amounted to “retaliatory politics” and an “opposition which hunt “ and asserted that the party would resist the move politically and legally.

The ED team reached the residence around 6:00 a.m. and began the search by 7:00 a.m. Initial information suggested that there are five officials who are part of the search team. At the time of the raid, only the caretaker of the house and the local CPI(M) secretary were reportedly present inside the residence.

As the news of the raid spread around 7:00 a.m. CPI(M) workers gathered near the residence in protest. Police personnel were heavily deployed in the area and shifted party workers from the narrow approach road leading to the house to the main road to prevent tension from escalating.

Senior CPI(M) leaders, including district leaders, were expected to arrive at the site as the protest intensified. Party leaders stated that an emergency state leadership and secretariat meeting would be held at 10:00 a.m. to decide further protest programs across Kerala.

The rates are part of the ongoing need investigation into the legend financial dealings involving CMRL and Exalogic solutions, a case that has triggered political controversy in Kerala.

The Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday (May 27, 2026) raided the houses of former Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in Kannur and Thiruvananthapuram.

It is viewed as a major escalation of a long-running enquiry into whether his daughter and former IT consultant, T. Veena’s now defunct firm, Exalogic, had received sizeable monthly retainers from Cochin Minerals and Rutile Limited (CMRL), a private mining company, during the 2017-2021 period allegedly without rendering any tangible service.

The ED search unfolded at 12 locations across the State, including the residence of the former Tourism and Public Works Minister and Ms. Veena’s husband, P.A. Mohamed Riyas, in Kozhikode, and the houses of the mining company’s promoters, among other localities.

ED officials, accompanied by armed Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel, were seen entering the search localities early Wednesday (May 27, 2026).

They cordoned off the premises, including Mr. Vijayan’s recently rented house at Bakery Junction in Thiruvananthapuram. Mr Vijayan and his family were at home when the raid unfolded.