CMRL pay case: ED questions MD Sasidharan Karth about son, wife

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday (June 16, 2026) questioned Saran S. Kartha, son of the managing director of Cochin Minerals and Rutil Ltd. (CMRL) Sasidharan S. Kartha. He appeared before the ED zonal office in Kochi in connection with a money laundering case related to the CMRL pay case. Jaya S. Kartha, wife of Mr. Sasidharan Kartha, also appeared for questioning. Mr. Saran is the Joint Managing Director of CMRL and Ms. Jaya Kartha is the Director of Empower India Capital Investments Pvt Ltd, which is run by Mr. Sasidharan Kartha.

The central agency had earlier asked T. Veena, daughter of former Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, to appear for questioning on June 17, 2026 as part of its probe into an alleged repayment case involving Exalogic Solutions Private Limited, her now-defunct firm, and CMRL.

On 27 May 2026, the agency raided Mr Vijayan’s Kannur and Thiruvananthapuram residences as part of an investigation into whether Ms Veena’s firm received substantial monthly advances from mining company CMRL during 2017-2021, allegedly without providing any tangible service. It also conducted searches at the CMRL office as part of the investigation.

Searched documents

Mr. Saran appeared in the ED office with a bag on a trolley. It was learned that the agency had asked him to produce documents relating to the company’s financial transactions over the past 15 years. An investigation by the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) under the Ministry of Corporate Affairs has reportedly uncovered fictitious cash expenditures of ₹182 crore made by CMRL over 15 years, which were allegedly used to bribe various individuals. It was also stated that the company paid ₹91 crore for transport services to companies owned by Mr. Sasidharan Kartha.

According to the ED, the company had given loans of ₹50,000 to Exalogic despite the company allegedly failing to make timely repayments.

The ED alleged that one of the bogus expenses recorded by CMRL was for the payment of Ms. Veena. Her now-defunct company received fraudulent payments of around ₹ 2.78 crore from CMRL on the pretext of IT consultancy services.

The agency registered a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) based on a complaint filed by the SFIO in an Ernakulam court in April 2025. During the raids, the ED froze ₹18.36 crore in 242 accounts identified during search operations held on payroll.

Published – June 16, 2026 11:11 AM IST