Escalation in monthly pay-off case: ED to receive 134 crucial case documents following court order

KOCHI: In a significant setback for Cochin Minerals and Rutile Limited (CMRL), a special PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act) court has ordered the transfer of crucial case documents to the Enforcement Directorate (ED). Rejecting strong objections raised by CMRL, the court directed that 134 vital documents previously gathered by the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) be handed over to the central probe agency.
The SFIO has been instructed to produce these records before the court within 10 days, after which they will be formally transferred to the ED.
According to the court order, the files to be shared include the controversial business contracts executed between CMRL and Exalogic Solutions—an IT firm owned by Veena Vijayan, daughter of former Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. The document cache also contains the personal income tax returns of Veena Vijayan.
The landmark ruling comes in response to an official application filed by the ED, which sought access to the evidence uncovered by the SFIO during its parallel investigation into the high-profile monthly pay-off allegations.
Legal experts and observers note that this development marks a pivotal shift in the trajectory of the investigation. Armed with the comprehensive evidence compiled by the SFIO, the ED is expected to advance to the next phase of its probe, with officials indicating that further enforcement actions will follow once the newly acquired material is thoroughly analysed.