Veena is being pursued by the Enforcement Directorate in the payoff case

The Enforcement Directorate (ED), which is looking into the pay-off case involving Cochin Minerals and Rutile Ltd (CMRL), is planning to question Veena T, the daughter of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, about the money received by her firm Exalogic Solutions, even as the Lok Sabha election approaches.

Leading sources said that Veena would probably be called in after the ED interviews S N Sasidharan Kartha, the managing director of CMRL, who was excused from the central agency on Tuesday due to health concerns. “It’s imperative to question Kartha before calling Veena,” an insider said.

Currently, CMRL authorities are providing information to ED about the money the company spent to several firms, including Exalogic. For a whole day, from Monday at 10.30 a.m. to Tuesday at 10.30 a.m., three CMRL personnel were questioned: senior manager N C Chandrashekaran, chief financial officer K S Suresh Kumar, and senior officer Anju Rachael Kuruvilla. The three were questioned about the transactions that took place between Exalogic and CMRL. It was confirmed whether Exalogic offered any technology services to the company as a condition of a contract. The officers were questioned for a whole day, according to ED authorities, since they refused to assist with the investigation team and provide all relevant information.

Kartha evaded interrogation once again; he did not show up on Monday either, even though Suresh and Vasudevan arrived at the ED office at approximately 4 p.m.

The books from CMRL that were retrieved by the Registrar of Companies, Income Tax Department, and Serious Fraud Investigation Office have already been viewed by the ED. Additionally, the agency is determining whether the CMRL and Exalogic transaction is subject to the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. The I-T department report, which forms the basis of the ED probe, states that CMRL paid Exalogic ~1.72 crore while claiming that the latter was offering software services.