SFIO begins probe in CMRL pay-off case; Team led by Arun Prasad conducting inspection at CMRL

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Serious Fraud Investigation (SFIO) team has started investigation in the CMRL pay-off case against chief minister's daughter Veena Vijayan. The team is conducting an inspection at the corporate office of CMRL in Aluva.

The inspection is being conducted under the leadership of deputy director Arun Prasad. The inspection started at 9 in the morning. Employees are prohibited from using phones. The complaint against Veena's Exalogic company, which was being investigated by income tax and revenue agencies, has been taken up by the Serious Fraud Investigation Office, a central agency that investigates large-scale financial fraud cases.

The Income Tax department raised suspicions over the transaction of money received by Veena's company from a private firm in the state and later handed it over for Registrar of Companies (ROC) investigation.

The SFIO will mainly investigate the complaints including Veena Vijayan accepting monthly payment. This is an agency that has the power to arrest the accused if they are found guilty. The SFIO is mainly investigating the financial transactions between Exalogic and Cochin Minerals and Rutile Limited Company (CMRL).

A six-member team comprising top officials of the corporate ministry is tasked with the probe. Apart from M Arun Prasad, additional director Prasad Adalli, K Prabhu, A Gokulnath, KMS Narayanan and Varun B S are in the team.

Arun Prasad is an officer in the team who has investigated many cases that created a stir, including the Aircel Maxis case against Karti Chidambaram, the Popular Finance fraud case and the Vasan eye care case.

The ROC had found Exalogic to have received money from a private firm as a violation of the law. ISTIC and KSIDC under the state industries department are also under investigation. The SFIO has been directed to complete the investigation within eight months.