Kerala CM’s daughter, her IT firm under ED radar as agency launches money laundering probe
Veena Vijayan with Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan
At a time when Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal languishes in jail after raids by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), the agency has now launched a money laundering investigation against the daughter of Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, Veena, her IT company, and several others.
Media reports said that the probe is in connection to the alleged illegal payments of Rs 1.72 crore ($203k) from a private mineral firm - Cochin Minerals And Rutile Ltd (CMRL) - to Veena Vijayan's company, Exalogic Solutions.
The alleged payments were reportedly made between 2018 and 2019 even as no services were rendered by the IT company to the private firm.ED reportedly registered a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and will now issue summons to individuals linked with the case.
This action comes after the agency took note of the investigation by the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO), a wing of the Union corporate affairs ministry.
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The SFIO is probing into transactions suspected to be illicit gratuities for favours granted by the Kerala government to the mining firm for mineral sand extraction from Alappuzha and Kollam coastal areas.
In response to the ED's move, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)) accused the agency of functioning as a tool of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
However, the political party Congress has dismissed it as a mere diversionary tactic to conceal the alleged CPI(M)-BJP alliance in Kerala.
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Congress' V D Satheesan also alleged the involvement of spiritual guide Sri M as a mediator in the purported CPI(M)-BJP and RSS alliance. He suggested that Kerala government leased four acres of land to Sri M. The developments comes political tensions in Kerala have intensified ahead of the general elections.
Earlier, following a probe ordered by the Centre, SFIO had set up a six-member team to initiate the investigation. In February, a SIFOteam raided CMRL corporate office in Aluva.
The Registrar of Companies (RoC) in a report had stated that Exalogic neglected to provide the requested documents. Additionally, the Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation (KSIDC) came under scrutiny as the government-owned PSU holds shares in CMRL.
(With inputs from agencies)