Directorate of Enforcement officials leaving Leader of the Opposition Pinarayi Vijayan’s house at Pinarayi in Kannur after completing a raid on Wednesday.

| Photo Credit: S.K. MOHAN

Raids conducted by the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) on the premises belonging to T. Veena, daughter of Leader of the Opposition Pinarayi Vijayan, and those associated with the Kochi-based Cochin Minerals and Rutile Limited (CMRL), yielded documents pertaining to investments and bank fixed deposits, according to ED sources.Simultaneous raids were conducted across ten locations in Kerala and Bengaluru on Wednesday in connection with an alleged pay-off case involving Exalogic Solutions, a firm owned by Ms. Veena. Premises linked to the management of the CMRL and Ms. Veena in Kannur, Ernakulam, Thiruvananthapuram, and Bengaluru were searched. The seized documents are under examination. Mr. Vijayan’s residence in Thiruvananthapuram was also inspected, as Ms. Veena was found to be residing there. Mr. Vijayan was present during the raid, according to an informal communication from the agency.Proceeds of crimePrevious investigations by the ED claimed to have established that proceeds of crime were generated by the management of the CMRL, led by S.N. Sasidharan Kartha, along with Ms. Veena. Accordingly, search operations were conducted to gather evidence of money laundering, the agency sources indicated.The Kerala High Court, while dismissing a writ petition filed by the CMRL on Tuesday, held that investigations initiated under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) remain valid as they do not require a predicate offence. The court further observed that, as of the date of judgment, a predicate offence existed since the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) had filed its prosecution complaint with a scheduled offence under the PMLA.The CMRL, whose office in Aluva was raided by the ED on Wednesday, first came under the scanner of enforcement agencies after the Income Tax department seized documents related to allegedly fake expenses amounting to ₹130 crore during a raid in January 2019.Mr. Sasidharan Kartha, the managing director, and his son, Saran S. Kartha, the joint managing director, hold substantial control over the company, which is publicly listed with 48.75% of shares held by the general public and 13.41% by the Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation, a State public sector undertaking. The managing director’s residence in Aluva was also searched by the ED officials, sources indicated.Fake expensesThe sources indicated that the CMRL admitted to the fake expenses before the Income Tax Settlement Commission. Subsequently, the SFIO under the Union Ministry of Corporate Affairs launched a probe based on the Income Tax department’s findings. The ED also initiated investigations under the PMLA. However, the CMRL challenged this before the High Court on the ground that there was no predicate offence, and the court had directed the ED not to take coercive action in this case on April 12, 2024, it said.The SFIO filed a prosecution complaint invoking charges under the PMLA for corporate fraud against Mr. Sasidharan Kartha and 12 others before the Additional Sessions Court – VII, Ernakulam, on April 3, 2025. According to the SFIO, Mr. Sasidharan Kartha and his son received cumulative remuneration of ₹30.63 crore between 2015-16 and 2022-23, despite no dividend payments. The agency also claimed to have uncovered alleged fictitious cash expenses of ₹182 crore over 15 years. It was further alleged that the CMRL paid ₹91 crore towards transport services to companies owned by Mr. Sasidharan Kartha’s family, sources indicated.One of the alleged fake expenses was the payment to Ms. Veena. Ms. Veena’s company, incidentally a one-person company, allegedly received fraudulent payments of ₹2.78 crore from the CMRL under the guise of IT consultancy services. Further, Empower India Capital Investment Private Limited (EICPL), operated by Mr. Sasidharan Kartha, allegedly extended loans totalling ₹50 lakh to Exalogic despite its failure in making timely repayments, according to sources. Published - May 27, 2026 09:21 pm IST