The Kerala High Court on Friday dismissed an appeal filed by Cochin Minerals and Rutiles Ltd (CMRL) and its officials seeking to quash proceedings initiated by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the alleged monthly pay-off case involving Exalogic Solutions, the now-defunct IT firm owned by Veena T, daughter of former Kerala Chief Minister, Pinarayi Vijayan.The court held that the ED is not barred from initiating civil proceedings under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) even in the absence of an FIR or complaint in the predicate offence. It observed that registration of an FIR is mandatory only in criminal proceedings and dismissed the appeal.CMRL and its officials had approached the High Court seeking a stay on the ED’s investigation into the company’s financial transactions with Exalogic Solutions. The probe relates to allegations of misappropriation of public funds.The High Court had earlier directed company officials to appear before the ED and cooperate with the investigation under the provisions of the PMLA, 2002.The company had challenged the ED’s invocation of the PMLA, arguing that the agency could not proceed without the registration of an FIR or complaint in the predicate offence. However, the ED maintained that it was empowered to issue summons and conduct an independent investigation.The agency also informed the court that its probe was separate from the investigation being conducted by the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO).A single bench of the High Court had previously held that the ED could continue its investigation under the PMLA even before the SFIO filed a formal complaint or final report. Following that order, the ED on May 27 conducted searches at the residences of Pinarayi Vijayan and others as part of its investigation into the alleged CMRL money laundering case involving his daughter.The controversy centres on allegations that CMRL made payments to Exalogic Solutions between 2017-18 and 2018-19 under agreements for software development, management and consultancy services.According to the Income Tax Department, Exalogic received around ₹1.72 crore from CMRL despite not providing the contracted services. The department’s Interim Board of Settlement later described the transactions as “illegal payments.”Subsequent investigations by the ED and the SFIO have focused on whether these payments constituted proceeds of crime under PMLA.Published on June 5, 2026