The Kerala High Court has issued notice to Veena T., the daughter of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, her IT firm Exalogic Solutions Pvt. Ltd., and 11 others who had been arraigned as respondents in the case pertaining to the allegations regarding the financial transactions between Cochin Minerals and Rutile Ltd. (CMRL) and Exalogic.
The notice was issued on a petition filed by BJP leader Shone George, seeking a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the allegations. The 11 other respondents include Sasidharan Kartha, the MD of CMRL.
In the petition, Mr. George said that the contents of the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) probe report on the alleged financial transactions between the two companies had referred to corporate fraud. But the SFIO had limited the scope of its probe to offences under the Companies Act and did not investigate the motive behind the alleged illegal payments. He thus sought further probe in coordination with the CBI, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Election Commission, since the findings involved offences under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, the Prevention of Corruption Act, and the Representation of People’s Act.
Veena’s stance
Ms. Veena had in an affidavit before the High Court in June refuted the allegation that her company is a ‘benami’ firm, and said it is operated independently of her father. In response to a PIL filed seeking a CBI probe into the allegations pertaining to the financial transactions between the two companies, she had said that the Union Ministry of Corporate Affairs had ordered a probe by the SFIO into certain affairs of the CMRL, including its transactions with Exalogic, under the Companies Act. As the SFIO was currently seized of the matter, all other agencies are precluded from probing it, she had contended then.
Published – July 23, 2025 07:43 pm IST
