Veena Vijayan named accused in monthly pay-off case, should face trial; Centre grants permission for prosecution

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) has filed a chargesheet against Veena Vijayan, daughter of Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, in connection with the monthly pay-off case. The investigation revealed that Veena's company, Exalogic, received payments without providing any services. According to the SFIO report, Exalogic was paid Rs 2.70 crore. The charges against Veena carry a potential prison sentence of up to 10 years. The Ministry of Corporate Affairs has approved the prosecution proceedings in the case.

The Ministry granted approval to prosecute Veena Vijayan, CMRL Managing Director Sasidharan Kartha, and CMRL Chief General Manager of Finance P. Suresh Kumar, among others. This decision was based on SFIO’s investigation report, which uncovered financial irregularities in the CMRL-Exalogic transactions. The chargesheet includes serious legal sections under corporate fraud laws.

As per the chargesheet, the Rs 2.70 crore payment to Veena came from CMRL and its subsidiary, Empower India. Sasidharan Kartha and his wife serve as directors of Empower India. In addition to Veena, Exalogic, CMRL, and Sasidharan Kartha have also been named as accused in the case. The charges fall under Section 447 of the Companies Act, which stipulates a prison term ranging from six months to ten years. The SFIO launched its investigation into the case in January last year.