The Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday searched 10 locations across Kerala. This included the home of former Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. The searches are part of a money laundering investigation related to the Cochin Minerals and Rutile Limited (CMRL) corruption case, which involves his daughter.
ED Raid at Ex-Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan
Officials told news agency ANI that the raids were part of the ED’s ongoing probe into alleged financial misdeeds involving Cochin Minerals and Rutile Limited and Exalogic Solutions Pvt Ltd, owned by Vijayan’s daughter T Veena. These searches occurred a day after the Kerala High Court decided not to stop the ED’s investigation into the CMRL case.
ED agents also raided the home of former minister and MLA PA Muhammad Riyas in Kozhikode. He is T Veena’s husband.
What is the CMRL Corruption Case?
The allegations first came to light in August 2023. Reports claimed that Exalogic received Rs 1.72 crore from CMRL from 2017 to 2020, despite providing no services. After these claims, the Centre instructed the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) to conduct a thorough investigation.
In its 160-page prosecution complaint, the SFIO named Veena, CMRL Managing Director Sasidharan Kartha, and 25 others as accused. The statement also listed several companies, including CMRL, Exalogic Solutions, and its subsidiary Empower India Capital Investments.
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