ED freezes ₹18.36 crore and 242 bank accounts Exalogic-CMRL payoff case
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) said it has frozen ₹18.36 crore in 242 accounts identified during search operations conducted in the Exalogic-Cochin Minerals and Rutile Limited payment case on Wednesday.
Intelligence collected by ED showed that Opposition Leader Pinarayi Vijayan’s daughter T. Veena was residing in Thiruvananthapuram with her father Mr. Vijayan. The Emergency Service said that the woman’s place of residence was closed during the raids.
ED, in a press release, claimed that the search revealed various incriminating records, accounts, digital evidence, investments and fixed deposits in banks. The seized evidence is being examined.
During the search operation, one of the emergency search teams was attacked by a group of people after the search operation ended at the premises of Ms. Veena and Mr. Vijayan in Thiruvananthapuram. The statement stated that the crowd attacked the emergency service team’s cars with bricks and iron rods without any provocation.
The attack was not a spontaneous reaction, but the result of a conspiracy. Three cars in which the emergency search team and CRPF personnel were traveling were attacked and destroyed. It was stated that one of the vehicle drivers was injured in his eye during the attack.
The ED followed due process and did not resist the mob and the CRPF personnel did not make any attack on the crowd. It was stated that ED has filed an FIR with Thiruvananthapuram Police to take legal action against the attackers.
Simultaneous raids were carried out at 10 locations in Kerala and Bengaluru on Wednesday in connection with an alleged payment case involving Exalogic Solutions, a firm owned by Ms. Veena.
Premises run by CMRL and Ms. Veena were searched in Kannur, Ernakulam, Thiruvananthapuram and Bengaluru. The seized documents were examined.
proceeds of crime
It was alleged that previous investigations by the ED had found that the proceeds of crime were obtained by the CMRL management led by SN Sasidharan Kartha along with Ms. Veena. Sources in the agency stated that search operations are being carried out to collect evidence of money laundering.
The Kerala High Court, while dismissing the writ petition filed by CMRL on Tuesday, held that investigations initiated under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) are valid as they do not require a predicate offence. The Court further observed that the predicate offense existed because, as on the date of the decision, the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) had lodged a prosecution complaint in respect of a scheduled offense under the PMLA.
CMRL, whose office in Aluva was raided by the ED on Wednesday, first came under the scanner of enforcement agencies after the Income Tax department seized documents of alleged fake expenditure of ₹130 crore during a raid in January 2019.
Managing director Mr. Sasidharan Kartha and his son Saran S. Kartha, joint managing director, have significant control over the publicly listed company, with 48.75% of its shares held by the public and 13.41% by the Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation, a State public sector enterprise. Sources stated that the general manager’s residence in Aluva was also searched by emergency services officials.
fake expenses
CMRL has admitted to making fake expenses before the Income Tax Reconciliation Commission, sources said. Later, the SFIO under the Union Ministry of Corporate Affairs launched an investigation based on the Income Tax department’s findings. The ED also initiated investigations under PMLA. However, CMRL challenged this before the Supreme Court on the grounds that there was no predicate offence, and the court on April 12, 2024, directed the ED not to take coercive action in this case.
On April 3, 2025, the SFIO filed a prosecution complaint against Mr. Sasidharan Kartha and 12 others in the Additional Sessions Court, Ernakulam, raising charges of corporate fraud under the PMLA. According to SFIO, Mr. Sasidharan Kartha and his son received cumulative remuneration of ₹30.63 crore between 2015-16 and 2022-23 despite no dividend payment. The agency also claimed to have uncovered allegations of fictitious cash expenditures of ₹182 crore over 15 years. Sources also claimed that CMRL had paid ₹ 91 crore for transportation services to companies owned by Mr. Sasidharan Kartha’s family.
One of the alleged fraudulent expenses was a payment to Ms. Veena. Ms. Veena’s company, a one-person firm, allegedly received fraudulent payments of ₹2.78 crore from CMRL in the guise of IT consultancy services. Also, according to sources, Empower India Capital Investment Private Limited (EICPL), run by Mr. Sasidharan Kartha, allegedly gave loans totaling ₹ 50 lakh to Exalogic despite not repaying them on time.
It was published – 27 May 2026 21:21 IST
