CMRL pay case: official withdraws ED statement

Leader of the Opposition in Kerala Pinarayi Vijayan. | Photo credit: Special arrangement

A former official of Cochin Minerals and Rutil Limited (CMRL), whose statement formed the basis for the Enforcement Directorate (ED) recommending the Kerala State Police chief to register a First Information Report (FIR) against former Chief Minister and current Opposition Leader Pinarayi Vijayan in the Exalogic-CMRL pay case, has submitted a withdrawal statement to the ED.

On September 7, 2026, the ED sent a detailed report to the state police chief seeking registration of a separate FIR under the Prevention of Corruption Act and other relevant laws against Mr. Vijayan, former Public Works Minister PA Mohamed Riyas and T. Veena, Mr. Vijayan’s daughter and Mr. Riyas’s wife. daughter, on the purported confession of CMRL’s former CFO and Chief General Manager P. Suresh Kumar.

Now it has come to light that Mr. Kumar has submitted an appeal letter to the ED’s Delhi office, citing “illegal and high-profile actions by officers of the Kochi office of the Enforcement Directorate”. The Kochi office issued summons to him on April 16, 2024. “I sent a statement/explanation on various issues raised by them regarding our company during interrogation at the ED office. I felt intimidated and pressured while recording my statements,” Mr. Kumar, who has since resigned from CMRL, said in an email to the company on the 15th, filing the same-day appeal May 20. ED.

In a press conference held on 11 September 2026, following the ED report to the state police chief, CPI(M) Kerala state secretariat member Mr. Riyas alleged that the investigating agency was intimidating individuals to give statements against him, Ms. Veena and Mr. Vijayan. He further claimed that such statements were then circulated to the media as official press releases. In its report, the ED accused Mr Riyas of “accepting bribes and transferring such bribe funds to Dubai through Veena and known associates”. Ms. Veena allegedly “helped Mr. Vijayan and Mr. Riyas in collecting and channeling bribes.”

Incidentally, KS Suresh Kumar, the current CMRL CMRL also submitted a similarly worded appeal statement to the ED and sent the same to the CMRL on or about 15 May 2024. The ED Kochi office issued summons to him on 8 April 2024.

Published – 16 Sep 2026 13:05 IST