The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has claimed that Veena Vijayan, daughter of former Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, transferred a lot of money to Dubai through hawala channels.
The agency has cited handwritten accounts and statements and digital evidence found in its investigation into possible financial transactions between Cochin Minerals and Rutile Limited (CMRL) and an IT company associated with Veena. The allegations lie within the larger money laundering investigation under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
According to the ED, searches were carried out at eight locations as part of the investigation. The agency claimed money had been transferred to Dubai in UAE dirhams and Indian rupees. The agency said the material that was seized during the searches contained handwritten records that contained details of amounts received, spent and transferred. Some of the financial transactions reflected in these records were not on the income sources known to the agency, said ED.
One of the main allegations is handwritten notings that are said to show a transfer of approximately 3.49 lakh UAE dirhams to Dubai. The ED has estimated this amount at around ₹85 lakh.
The agency also referred to Indian rupee accounts supposedly maintained by Veena and claimed that the total amount reflected in those accounts was approximately ₹20.05 crore. These figures are part of the agency's allegations and have not, by themselves, led to criminal liability against Veena.
The new development follows an earlier investigation into payments made by CMRL to Exalogic Solutions, an IT company associated with Veena. The Income Tax Department had previously looked into the company and found that Exalogic received ₹2.78 crore from CMRL, which it said was a payment for IT consultancy services. The transactions were then under investigation as to whether these were genuine business transactions or had another financial purpose.
The ED’s investigation was initiated following findings from a Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) investigation into possible corporate malpractices, which included frauds and payments. Now the agency is looking at whether funds associated with the CMRL transactions were also routed through other channels and whether any such transactions were proceeds of crime under the applicable money laundering law.
Another transaction noted in the literature is Empower India Capital Investment Private Limited, headed up by CMRL Managing Director Sasidharan Kartha, which has given Exalogic Solutions a ₹50 lakh loan. The loan has been examined and repayment was questioned, the ED said. It is also investigating the companies’ finances and people involved in the matter.
The latest search operation was reported to have taken place around three months after the agency conducted a search on May 27 at locations linked to Veena and Pinarayi Vijayan. The ED claimed that handwritten accounts maintained by Veena were recovered. The ED asserts that these contained names of individuals, information about an individual who handled or spent money, and the funds that were transferred to Dubai.
Digital evidence has also become an important part of the investigation. The ED said material recovered from Veena included a photograph of a SIM card obtained in another person’s name. The SIM card was allegedly to be used in a Wi-Fi router and may have been connected to internet-based communication, the agency said. So investigators have examined people whose names were on the handwritten accounts and the person who allegedly provided the SIM card.
The allegations have also come to Veena's husband and Kerala minister Muhammed Riyas’ attention. Speaking to the media in Kozhikode, Riyas said the transactions had been conducted legally and he would be able to deal with it through legal and political means. His reaction underscores the contested nature of the investigation; the ED has presented its findings as allegations under investigation while the other side argues the financial transactions were legitimate.
The case has attracted widespread political interest because of Veena’s family background and the involvement of a company connected to a big Kerala business. But allegations made in the course of an investigation need to be distinguished from those established by a court. The ED's claims regarding hawala transfers, financial records, and the alleged movement of funds to Dubai are under investigation and legal scrutiny.
The investigation will look at the origin and movement of the alleged funds; the nature of the transactions between CMRL and Exalogic Solutions; and whether the evidence gathered in the searches supports the agency's allegations. Digital communication and financial records may also be examined to determine what happened in relation to the alleged transfers.
The main questions investigators will be asking are the authenticity and interpretation of handwritten records, the origin of the money supposedly moved overseas, and the relationship between the various transactions under audit.
The ED will have to decide how to proceed based on the evidence and follow-up legal proceedings. But until now, these allegations have been the stance of the investigating agency while Veena Vijayan and her family have maintained that the transactions were legal.
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