ED summons former Kerala CM:Notice pasted at his residence; 2 FIRs already registered in money laundering and corruption cases

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) summoned former Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Saturday. The agency pasted the summons notice at his rented house in Thiruvananthapuram. It has asked him to appear at 11 a.m. on 23 October to record his statement and produce the relevant records. Vijayan has been accused of irregularities in financial transactions between two companies, CMRL and Exalogic. Exalogic, one of the two companies, is owned by his daughter. Vijayan has been accused of money laundering and corruption. The Kerala Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau has already registered two FIRs in the case. The investigation is now with the Enforcement Directorate (ED). Earlier, on Friday, the Supreme Court refused to hear Vijayan’s urgent petition seeking a stay on the Vigilance action in the ₹2.78 crore CMRL-Exalogic case. Vijayan had also expressed apprehension of arrest. Case dates back to 2017-20, Vijayan’s daughter’s company involved CMRL (Cochin Minerals and Rutile Limited) is a Kerala-based company. Exalogic Solutions was an IT company run by Pinarayi Vijayan’s daughter, T. Veena. It is alleged that CMRL made payments worth crores to Exalogic and Veena between 2017 and 2020. According to the investigating agencies, some of these payments were not made in exchange for actual IT or consultancy services. The payments initially came to light during an Income Tax investigation. Later, the ED and SFIO also investigated the financial transactions. What are the allegations regarding the money? According to the ED, around ₹2.78 crore was paid to Exalogic, shown as fees for IT consultancy and other services. The investigation raised the question of whether services worth the amount paid had actually been provided. The ED alleges that the payments were linked to the political position of Veena’s father, Pinarayi Vijayan, and were shown as ordinary business payments. However, these are allegations, and guilt has not yet been established in court. How did the case reach Pinarayi Vijayan? Based on information gathered during its investigation, the ED sent a report to the state police for action. The Kerala High Court subsequently directed that an FIR be registered on 9 October. Following this, the Kerala Vigilance registered an FIR against Pinarayi Vijayan, his daughter Veena and his son-in-law P.A. Mohammed Riyas. Why has the ED summoned Vijayan now? The ED is now investigating the money-laundering aspect of the case. In this connection, Vijayan has been summoned to appear at the ED office in Kochi on 23 October and provide records.