New Delhi [India], August 18 : The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday conducted searches at eight premises at various location of Kozhikode in Keralam in its ongoing Cochin Minerals and Rutile Limited (CMRL) financial transaction case.
Officials, privy to the development, said the search operations are follow up of previous raids carried out by the ED on May 27 this year in the case.
They said the federal agency found certain new evidence of a money trail from Veena, daughter of former Keralam Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, during the searches carried out in May.
As per the officials, persons who were involved in the money trail are being covered in this fresh search operation.
On May 27, ED's Kochi zone conducted searches at 10 premises in the case against CMRL directors SN Sasidharan Kartha, Saran S Kartha, Veena, and her company Exalogic Solutions Private Limited. The search operation then covered premises in Kottayam, Ernakulam, Kannur, Trivandrum, and Bengaluru.
CMRL is a publicly listed company in which 48.75 per cent of the shares are held by the general public, and also 13.41 per cent of the shares are held by the Kerala State Public Sector Unit, Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation (as on March 31, 2023).
The Income Tax Department had also conducted searches against the CMRL in January 2019, during which certain fake expenses to the extent of about Rs 130 crore were identified. The fake expenses were also admitted by CMRL before the Income Tax Settlement Commission (ITSC). The ITSC, in its order, has given a finding of various bribes given to various persons by CMRL and the admissions made by CMRL personnel. A complaint was made before the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) based on the Income Tax Department's findings, and the Ministry of Corporate Affairs directed investigations by the SFIO. Accordingly, SFIO started investigations.
ED had initiated investigations under PMLA based on the investigations initiated by the SFIO. However, the same was challenged before the Kerala High Court by the CMRL on the ground that there was no predicate offence, and the court had issued 'no coercive action' by the ED in this case on April 12, 2024.
The SFIO filed a Prosecution Complaint on April 3, 2025, for corporate fraud against Sasidharan Kartha and 12 others before the Additional Sessions Court - VII, Ernakulam, Kerala. The SFIO Prosecution complaint contains a scheduled offence under PMLA.
As per SFIO, S N Sasidharan Kartha, the Managing Director, and his son, Saran S Kartha, are accused of receiving Rs. 30.63 crores in cumulative remuneration from Financial Year 2015-16 to Financial Year 2022-23 despite no dividend payments.
The SFIO investigations also revealed that fictitious cash expenses of Rs 182 crores over a span of 15 years were used for bribing various persons. It was further alleged that CMRL paid Rs 91 crores towards transport services to the companies owned by the Sasidharan Kartha family.
ED said one of the fake expenses booked by CMRL is towards the payment to Veena, and that Veena's company, Exalogic Solutions Private Limited (a one-person company), received fraudulent payments totalling Rs. 2.78 crores from CMRL under the guise of IT consultancy services.
Further, Empower India Capital Investment Private Limited (EICPL), operated by Sasidharan Kartha, MD of CMRL, extended loans to Exalogic totalling Rs 50 lakh, despite Exalogic failing to make timely repayments.
The High Court of Kerala dismissed the writ petition filed by CMRL on May 26 this year. The High Court held that the initiation of PMLA investigations is valid and does not require a predicate offence to initiate investigations. Further, the court noted that as on the date of judgment, the predicate offence existed as SFIO had filed its prosecution complaint with the scheduled offence of PMLA.
The investigations done by ED before showed that proceeds of crime were generated by the management of CMRL led by S N Sasidharan Kartha, and bribes were paid to various persons.
Officials said Veena is a recipient of money from CRML without rendering any services.
Intelligence gathered by ED showed that Veena was residing with her father in Thiruvananthapuram. Accordingly, the premises where she was residing were covered. When the search team reached the premises where Veena was residing, her father was also present.
During the search conducted in May, several incriminating records and accounts, digital evidence, investments, and bank fixed deposits were found.
The ED has frozen about Rs 18.36 crore in around 242 accounts identified during the search operations, and the evidence recovered is being analysed.