The Enforcement Directorate has registered a money laundering case against Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s daughter Veena Vijayan and her information technology company for alleged irregularities in payments from a Kochi-based private firm, PTI reported quoting an unidentified official.
The central agency has filed the case under provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
In August, an Income Tax Interim Settlement Board report alleged that Veena Vijayan and her IT company, Exalogic Solutions Private Limited, had received Rs 1.72 crore as monthly payments from the Kochi-based Cochin Minerals and Rutile Limited, The Hindu reported.
The report had said that there was no evidence of any services rendered in return for the payments.
The Enforcement Directorate has registered its case after taking cognisance of a complaint filed by the Serious Fraud Investigation Office under the corporate affairs ministry, which was also investigating the matter.
On Wednesday, Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader MV Govindan questioned at a press conference whether the Enforcement Directorate had any credibility, PTI reported.
“You can target anyone politically,” Govindan said when asked if the investigation was meant to target the chief minister. “But the question is who is targeting? It [Enforcement Directorate] is doing the daily labour for the BJP [Bharatiya Janata Party].”
“The party [the Communist Party of India (Marxist)] and its people are not the ones who will surrender to such tactics and cases,” Govindan added.
The central agency will investigate individuals and entities named by the Income Tax Interim Settlement Board, The Hindu reported quoting an unidentified official. The role of Cochin Minerals and Rutile Limited and the Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation, which holds 13.4% of the Kochi-based firm’s shares, will also be looked into.
In February, the Karnataka High Court rejected a petition filed by Exalogic Solutions Private Limited that questioned the Ministry of Corporate Affairs’ move to order a Serious Fraud Investigation Office probe into its affairs, The Hindu reported.
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