CMRL money laundering case: ED raids Pinarayi Vijayan’s house

The searches were conducted a day after the Kerala High Court refused to quash the ED’s probe into the case.

According to The News Minute, the searches are underway at Vijayan’s residence in Kannur, his rented house in Thiruvananthapuram, the Kozhikode residence of his daughter Veena and son-in-law and former minister P A Mohammed Riyas, the residence of CMRL Managing Director Sasidharan Kartha, and the company’s office in Aluva.

Officials are examining documents, electronic devices, digital records and financial transaction details as part of the ongoing investigation, news agency UNI reported.

Sources told the agency that ED officials arrived early in the morning and continued the searches for several hours, assisted by central security personnel deployed around the premises.

The case has been under ED scrutiny for several months.

CMRL, a Kerala-based company engaged in the manufacture of synthetic rutile and industrial chemicals, has been under the scanner over allegations of bribery and money laundering.

According to reports, the case centres on alleged illegal financial transactions between CMRL and Exalogic Solutions, a now-defunct IT firm owned by Veena T. CMRL allegedly paid around Rs 1.72 crore to Exalogic Solutions between 2015 and 2020.

Following the revelations, the Centre had directed the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) to probe the matter.

Vijayan, a two-time chief minister, recently suffered a setback after his Left Democratic Front (LDF) was defeated in the Assembly polls. The alliance currently holds 35 seats in the 140-member Assembly.