ED raids former Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan’s houses in CMRL pay case

Protests outside the residence of Leader of the Opposition and former Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in Thiruvananthapuram against the ED raid on Wednesday. | Photo credit: Nirmal Harindran

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday (May 27, 2026) raided former Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s Kannur and Thiruvananthapuram residences in what is seen as a major escalation in a long-running investigation into whether his daughter and former IT consultant, T. Vectena’s, received a monthly per diem from Exachinlogic’s company, Mineral. and Rutil Limited (CMRL), a private mining company, during the period 2017-2021, allegedly without providing any tangible service.

The ED search unfolded at 12 locations across Kerala, including the residence of former tourism minister and Ms Veena’s husband PA Mohamed Riyas in Kozhikode and the houses of the mining company’s promoters, among others.

ED officials accompanied by armed Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel were seen entering the search sites early on Wednesday. They have cordoned off the premises, including Mr. Vijayan’s recently rented house at Bakery Junction in Thiruvananthapuram. Mr Vijayan and his family were at home when the raid took place.

Raids hours after HC got the nod

The early morning probe by the ED came hours after the Kerala High Court on Tuesday gave permission to the National Anti-Money Laundering Agency to investigate the alleged political case. In particular, the state-owned Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation (KSIDC) has a 14% stake in CMRL, which hired Ms. Veena for a fee as an IT consultant.

The apex court also rejected CMRL’s plea to quash the case and directed the firm’s officials to appear before the ED. Notably, the ED said before the Supreme Court that its investigation into the money laundering suspect case was independent of the earlier investigation conducted by the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO).

Mr. Vijayan and Ms. Veena have repeatedly claimed that Exalogic’s contract with CMRL was above par, that the two firms transacted transparently through bank accounts, and that the IT firm paid income taxes and submitted required documents to various regulatory authorities.

The SFIO interviewed Ms. Veena at its office in New Delhi in 2025. However, Mr. Vijayan’s office insisted that the recording of Ms. Veena’s statement was procedural and not incriminating.

The CMRL-Exalogic controversy, which caught the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government in a tailspin during the 2021 Assembly elections and 2024 Lok Sabha polls, remained on the back burner during the 2026 Kerala Assembly elections, when the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) government returned to power with a historic mandate of hia 10 years.

The politically charged investigations of the SFIO and later the ED have their origins in the 2023 finding of the Interim Settlement Committee (IBS) under the Central Board of Taxation.

IBS blew the whistle when the CMRL moved a quasi-judicial forum to claim input tax rebates for payments made to various persons across political aisles and entities, including Exalogic Solutions Limited. The IBS suspected that the payments, which were said to be largely limited to scribbling in the books, were under the table for political favors, leading to investigations by the SFIO and the ED.

Published – 27 May 2026 08:53 IST