ED questions Veena for around 8 hours in CMRL pay case

T. Veena, daughter of former Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, appears at the Enforcement Directorate (ED) zonal office in Kochi on Wednesday (June 17, 2026) | Photo credit: Thulasi Kakkat

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday questioned T. Veena, daughter of former Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, for about eight hours in connection with the money laundering probe in the Cochin Minerals and Rutil Ltd (CMRL) payment case.

Here she appeared at the ED zonal office around 10:30 AM PA Mohamed Riyas, her husband and Beypore MLA, accompanied her in a vehicle and left the premises after she entered the ED office. She left the ED office after questioning around 7.50 pm

The central agency is learned to have inquired about payments of ₹2.78 crore made by CMRL to its now-defunct IT company Exalogic. The ED also raised questions over loans worth ₹50,000 crore given to Exalogic by Empower India Capital Investments Pvt Ltd (EICIPL), run by CMRL managing director SN Sasidharan Kartha, despite her company’s failure to make timely repayments.

It was Ms. Veena’s first personal appearance at the ED office here. Security at the office premises was beefed up ahead of her questioning in view of the violent incidents during the raids the agency conducted at Mr. Vijayan’s residence in Thiruvananthapuram on May 27 as part of the investigation. Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) and Kerala Police personnel were posted at the entrance of the ED office.

Although she was asked to appear for questioning on June 12, Ms. Veena asked for a postponement due to health reasons. The ED later issued a fresh summons directing her to appear on June 17.

The agency on Monday questioned Shiby S. Kartha, daughter of Mr. Sasidharan Kartha and director of an associate firm CMRL. On Tuesday, the ED questioned Saran S. Kartha, Managing Director of CMRL, and Jaya S. Kartha, wife of Mr. Sasidharan Kartha, in her capacity as Director of EICIPL.

An investigation by the Serious Fraud Investigation Bureau under the Ministry of Corporate Affairs has reportedly revealed fictitious cash outlays of about ₹182 crore over a period of 15 years, which CMRL allegedly used to bribe various individuals.

Published – 17 Jun 2026 10:49 IST