The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has summoned Veena T, daughter of former Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan, for questioning in a money laundering case related to Cochin Minerals And Rutile Ltd (CMRL). Besides Veena, the ED has also issued notices to eight more people associated with the case.
According to the statement, Veena has been asked to present herself at the ED’s Zonal office in Kochi on June 12. Her statement will be recorded under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) once she appears, they said.
The case relates to the Cochin Minerals And Rutile Ltd (CMRL) and Veena's now-defunct company, Exalogic Solutions Private Limited. The case deals with alleged fraudulent transactions made between Exalogic and Cochin Minerals and Rutile Limited (CMRL).
The ED raided Veena’s residence, which she shared with her father, in Thiruvananthapuram, last month, along with some other locations. The agency claims that the management of CMRL (led by Kartha) and Veena generated "proceeds of crime" in this process.
The ED probe pertains to an allegation that CMRL made fraudulent payments worth Rs 2.78 crore to Exalogic Solutions under the guise of IT consultancy services.
The High Court Division Bench had also given permission to proceed with this investigation. A bench of Justices V. Raja Vijayaraghavan and K.V. Jayakumar dismissed CMRL's appeal against the ED investigation.
