In another major setback for ex-Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan's daughter Veena Thaikandiyil, in the CMRL-Exalogic fraud case, a special court under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) on Monday ordered 134 crucial case documents to be handed over to the ED.
As per the special court order, 134 documents obtained by the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) are to be presented before it in 10 days, after which they will be transferred to the Enforcement Directorate.
The 134 documents include CMRL-Exalogic financial transactions and related correspondence, Veena's statements made in the case, her income tax filings, responses that CMRL officials had made during questioning, and the account details of Veena and Exalogic officials—among others.
The case deals with alleged fraudulent transactions made between the Veena-owned Exalogic, an IT firm hired by minerals company Cochin Minerals and Rutile Limited (CMRL), which investigators say left no trace.
Notably, CMRL on June 6 had strongly opposed the transfer of documents related to the SFIO chargesheet, alleging that its side should be fully heard first.
CMRL had also argued that documents related to its alleged fraud transactions with Veena-owned Exalogic should not be used as part of another case.
However, the special court's order rejecting this plea came after the ED's lawyers argued that the 134 documents could be used while investigating PMLA cases.
Once available, these documents will be cited in the ED notice to Veena and CMRL officials for questioning in the next phase of the investigation.
This comes after the Kerala High Court on Friday dismissed an appeal that the CMRL had filed against a single-judge verdict that had allowed the ED to continue its money laundering probe.
The two-judge bench, comprising Justices Raja Vijayaraghavan V. and K.V. Jayakumar, had rejected the CMRL plea, stating that the registration of a predicate offence was not a prerequisite for a PMLA inquiry.
"Non-registration of an FIR or non-filing of a complaint in respect of a scheduled offence will not bar the ED from initiating civil action under the PMLA. Registration of a scheduled offence is a pre-requisite only for a criminal prosecution and not for civil action or for exercise of inquiry powers under the Act," observed a two-judge bench of the Kerala High Court in its ruling.
