ED’s crucial move in monthly payoff case; Register case against Pinarayi, Riyas soon

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM; The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has sought the registration of cases against Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, his daughter Veena Vijayan, and son-in-law Mohammed Riyas MLA. In a letter to the DGP, the ED has asked to register FIR under the Prevention of Corruption Act. The move is based on evidence uncovered by the ED in the raids conducted in connection with the monthly payoff case. The DGP has confirmed that the letter has been received.

The evidence found by the ED has been handed over to the state police chief. The ED is presently investigating only the case against Veena Vijayan. The agency during investigation found that Mohammed Riyas and Pinarayi Vijayan were beneficiaries of the monthly payments. The ED cannot implicate them in the monthly payoff case and so demanded to register a separate case against them.

Hawala transaction of Rs 85 lakhs
The ED had earlier found that Veena Vijayan had engaged in hawala transactions. The ED in a press release said that Veena's diary contained details of transactions worth Rs 20.05 crore, including information about Rs 85 lakh being sent to Dubai. The press release was issued after the ED conducted raids at nine locations in Kozhikode as part of its investigation into allegations that payments were received from CMRL for services that were not actually provided.

The documents seized from Veena on May 27 contained handwritten accounts maintained by her. They included the names of people who handled and transferred the money, as well as details of the money sent to Dubai. The records contained calculations involving both UAE and Indian currencies.

The ED also found that Veena had used a SIM card registered in someone else' name through a Wi-Fi router for making internet calls. The agency conducted raids at the homes of people mentioned in Veena's notes and seized several digital devices during those searches as well. The investigation had found that CMRL had incurred allegedly suspicious expenses amounting to Rs 182 crore over a period of 15 years. Of this amount, Rs 2.78 crore was allegedly paid to Veena's company, Exalogic Solutions.