T. Veena, daughter of former Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, appears at the zonal office of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in Kochi on Wednesday (June 17, 2026)

| Photo Credit: Thulasi Kakkat

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday questioned T. Veena, daughter of former Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, for around eight hours in connection with the money-laundering probe in the Cochin Minerals and Rutile Ltd (CMRL) pay-off case.She turned up at the zonal office of the ED here around 10.30 a.m. P.A. Mohamed Riyas, her husband and Beypore MLA, accompanied her in a vehicle and left the premises after she entered the ED office. She left the ED office after questioning around 7.50 p.m.The Central agency is learnt to have asked her about the payments amounting to ₹2.78 crore made by the CMRL to her now-defunct Exalogic IT company. The ED also raised questions on the loans worth ₹50 lakh extended to Exalogic by Empower India Capital Investments Pvt Ltd (EICIPL) operated by CMRL Managing Director S.N. Sasidharan Kartha, despite her company failing to make timely repayments.It was Ms. Veena’s first personal appearance at the ED office here. The security at the office premises had been beefed up ahead of her questioning in view of the violent incidents during the raids held by the agency at the residence of Mr. Vijayan in Thiruvananthapuram on May 27 as part of the probe. Personnel of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) and the Kerala Police were posted at the entrance to the ED office.Though she was asked to appear for questioning on June 12, Ms. Veena had sought postponement of appearance citing health grounds. The ED later issued a fresh summons directing her to appear on June 17.The agency had questioned Shiby S. Kartha, daughter of Mr. Sasidharan Kartha and Director of an associated firm of the CMRL, on Monday. On Tuesday, the ED questioned Saran S. Kartha, Joint Managing Director of the CMRL, and Jaya S. Kartha, wife of Mr. Sasidharan Kartha, in her capacity as Director of the EICIPL.An investigation by the Serious Fraud Investigation Office, under the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, had allegedly revealed fictitious cash expenses of about ₹182 crore over a span of 15 years, which was allegedly used by the CMRL to bribe various persons. Published - June 17, 2026 10:49 am IST