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.

T. Veena, daughter of former Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, is unlikely to appear before the Kochi zonal office of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for questioning on Friday (June 12, 2026) in connection with the alleged money-laundering case linked to the Cochin Minerals and Rutile Limited (CMRL) pay-off. She has sought postponement of appearance citing health grounds.

The ED may issue a fresh summons for another date. Ms. Veena has reportedly mailed the agency, expressing her willingness to appear later and cooperate with the investigation by submitting relevant documents through her lawyer.

This was the first summons issued to her by the ED, which is learnt to have prepared a detailed questionnaire.

The central agency had summoned Ms. Veena along with Sasidharan Kartha, chairman and managing director of CMRL, and senior company officials on June 9, 2026 as part of the probe.

The ED had on May 27, 2026 raided the residences of Mr. Vijayan in Kannur and Thiruvananthapuram as part of the probe into whether his daughter and former IT consultant Ms. Veena’s now-defunct firm Exalogic had received sizeable monthly retainers from CMRL, a private mining company, during the 2017-2021 period allegedly without rendering any tangible service.

The ED had earlier frozen ₹18.36 crore in 242 accounts identified during the search operations held in the pay-off case. It had claimed that the searches held as part of the probe yielded several incriminating records, accounts, digital evidences, investments and fixed deposits in banks. Besides Mr. Vijayan’s residences at Kannur and Thiruvananthapuram, the ED had held searches in the residence of former Minister and Ms. Veena’s husband P.A. Mohamed Riyas.

A special court for the trial of Companies Act offences in Kochi on June 8 allowed the ED to obtain copies of documents collected by the SFIO in connection with the money-laundering case linked to the CMRL pay-off case.

Ernakulam Additional District and Sessions Judge Suresh Babu V.P.M. allowed a petition filed by the ED seeking copies of documents gathered by the SFIO, which had investigated the alleged fictitious expenses submitted by the CMRL before the Income Tax Settlement Commission. The agency had reportedly sought 134 documents collected by the SFIO during its probe into the links between the CMRL and Ms. Veena’s now-defunct firm.

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.