Pay-off scenario: ED to question CMRL officials shortly

Cochin Minerals and Rutile Limited (CMRL) has been served with a notice by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to question its personnel in connection with a probe into the questionable dealings the company had with a number of individuals and businesses, including Veena T, CM’s daughter.

Officials from CMRL’s financial department have reportedly been invited by ED to come in for questioning at the ED office in Kochi. Additionally, CMRL representatives have been required to provide documentation pertaining to the business’s transactions from 2017 to 2019.

After taking over the investigation last month, the ED is interrogating CMRL executives for the first time. Documents pertaining to the questionable transactions have been gathered by the I-Tax department and the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) and sent to the ED.

The I-T department report, which forms the basis of the ED inquiry, claims that CMRL paid Exalogic ~1.72 crore while claiming to be a software services provider. This came to light during an I-T investigation into CMRL’s financial affairs in 2019.