ED registers laundering case against Veena, her firm

The Enforcement Directorate, on Wednesday, March 27, initiated an investigation into a money laundering case involving Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's daughter Veena Vijayan’s IT firm and the Cochin-based mining firm Cochin Minerals And Rutile Ltd (CMRL). The case is already being probed by the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO).The Kochi office of the ED has filed an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) in the case. The ECIR is similar to the FIR lodged by the police for cognizable offences. This issue was first raised last year by Congress MLA Mathew Kuzhalnadan on the basis of a media report, which quoted an Income Tax Department officer as saying that "CM Vijayan’s daughter Veena Vijayan’s IT firm Exalogic had received Rs 1.72 crore from the mining company CMRL, in which the Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation (KSIDC) has around 13% stake".Initially, CM Pinarayi Vijayan and the CPI(M) defended the case both inside and outside the Assembly. They said that this was nothing but a political witch hunt. The Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) took up the probe last month, and has completed one round of probe by visiting the offices of CMRL and KSIDC and has taken statements from officials of both these firms. When the SFIO began its probe, the KSIDC approached the Kerala High Court seeking a stay, which was disallowed. Veena, whose IT firm was based in Bengaluru and now not in operation, approached the Karnataka High Court seeking a stay, but was also disallowed.