ED books Pinarayi Vijayan, Riyas in separate cases over alleged bribery, illegal money transfers

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has registered two formal cases against former Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and former minister P.A. Mohamed Riyas over alleged bribery and illegal money transfers in the CMRL-Exalogic case.

The move follows two criminal cases registered by the Kerala Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB), naming both leaders as the primary accused.

The central agency is treating the two matters separately. One concerns alleged illegal payments made by Cochin Minerals and Rutile Limited (CMRL) to Exalogic Solutions, a now-defunct IT consultancy firm owned by Vijayan's daughter, Veena. The other concerns allegations that Riyas accumulated illicit funds and transferred money abroad through informal hawala networks.

Alleged ₹2.78 crore payments to Exalogic

The primary investigation centres on allegations that CMRL paid a total of ₹2.78 crore to Exalogic Solutions, ostensibly as consultancy fees.

Investigators suspect that the payments were falsely recorded as fees for services and were, in reality, illegal payments intended for Vijayan. Veena and CMRL managing director S. Sasidharan Kartha are also named as accused in the case.

The allegations form part of the wider CMRL-Exalogic controversy over payments made by the mineral company to the consultancy firm.

Vigilance forms two special investigation teams

Following information received from federal investigators, the VACB has constituted two special teams to investigate the allegations.

One team, led by Superintendent of Police E.N. Suresh, is probing payments made by companies to Exalogic during Vijayan's first term as chief minister.

The second team, headed by Superintendent of Police Balakrishnan, is investigating allegations that Riyas accumulated illicit funds and transferred them overseas through hawala channels. Veena and several associates of Riyas are also named as accused in this investigation. 

Kerala High Court to decide on appeals

Meanwhile, a division bench of the Kerala High Court comprising Justices K. Natarajan and Johnson John is scheduled to deliver its verdict on Thursday on whether Vijayan, Veena and Riyas can appeal against a lower court directive to register criminal cases.

On October 9, a single judge directed the police to register cases based on evidence gathered during anti-money laundering searches. The state police subsequently registered two first information reports (FIRs) on Monday.

The division bench reserved its judgment after questioning state law officers about the decision to order a preliminary enquiry when central agencies had already supplied information about the alleged corruption.

Court questions preliminary enquiry

State counsel told the court that the police had conducted a preliminary examination because the complete supporting materials had not initially been provided by the federal agencies.

The judges also questioned why the appellants had not directly challenged the FIRs after their registration. They further asked whether a person proposed to be named as an accused must invariably be given a hearing before a criminal case is registered.

Defence lawyers argued that their clients had been denied an opportunity to be heard. They also contended that the original petition was in the nature of public interest litigation and should have been heard by a division bench.