After raiding premises linked to former Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, his son-in-law and former minister Mohamed Riyas and others in connection with the CMRL money laundering case, the Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday said it has frozen approximately ₹18.36 crore across 242 bank accounts identified during the search operations.
The ED said it found several incriminating records and accounts, digital evidences, investments and bank FD. The recovered evidences are being analysed, the agency stated.
The searches were conducted at 10 locations in Kottayam, Ernakulam, Kannur, Thiruvananthapuram, and Bengaluru. Premises linked to Cochin Minerals and Rutile Limited (CMRL) Managing Director S.N. Sasidharan Kartha, his son Saran S. Kartha, Pinarayi's daughter Veena T. and her company Exalogic Solutions Pvt Ltd were among those searched.
CMRL, a publicly listed company, has nearly 49 per cent public shareholding, while Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation (KSIDC), a state PSU, holds over 13 per cent stake in the company as of March 2023.
The case traces back to income tax department searches conducted in January 2019, during which alleged fake expense amounting to around ₹130 crore was detected. According to the ED, CMRL later admitted before the Income Tax Settlement Commission (ITSC) that several bogus expenses had been booked. The ITSC reportedly noted that these funds were used for bribing various individuals.
Following the tax findings, the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) initiated a corporate fraud investigation under directions from the Ministry of Corporate Affairs. Based on the SFIO probe, the ED launched a money laundering investigation under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
CMRL had challenged the ED investigation before the Kerala High Court, arguing that there was no predicate offence to justify a PMLA probe. In April 2024, the court had granted interim protection from coercive action.
However, the legal position changed after the SFIO filed a prosecution complaint on April 3, 2025, before the Additional Sessions Court-VII in Ernakulam, naming Sasidharan Kartha and 12 others in connection with alleged corporate fraud offences scheduled under the PMLA.
On May 26, the Kerala High Court dismissed CMRL’s writ petition, holding that the ED was legally empowered to initiate investigations and noting that a predicate offence now existed in light of the SFIO complaint.
According to the SFIO findings cited by the ED, Sasidharan Kartha and his son allegedly received cumulative remuneration of ₹30.63 crore between FY 2015-16 and FY 2022-23 despite the company not paying dividends during the period.
Investigators also alleged that fictitious cash expenses worth ₹182 crore were booked over a span of 15 years and that these funds were used for bribery payments. Another allegation relates to payments of ₹91 crore towards transport services to firms allegedly controlled by the Kartha family.
The ED stated that one of the alleged fake expenses involved payments made to Veena's Exalogic Solutions, purportedly for IT consultancy services.
According to investigators, Exalogic received ₹2.78 crore from CMRL without providing corresponding services. The agency also alleged that Empower India Capital Investment Pvt Ltd, operated by Sasidharan Kartha, extended loans totaling ₹50 lakh to Exalogic despite delays in repayment.
