As the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO), which is probing the financial dealings of Exalogic Solutions, the firm owned by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s daughter Veena Vijayan, as well as Cochin Minerals and Rutile Ltd (CMRL) and Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation (KSIDC), began its probe with lightning speed, the Exalogic Solutions on Thursday approached the Karnataka High Court seeking a stay on the investigation by the central probe agency.
The Exalogic Solution’s petition seeking a stay on the SFIO probe against it comes amid reports that the central probe agency will serve a notice on Veena Vijayan asking her to appear before it as part of the ongoing investigation related to her firm’s dealings.
The petition filed by lawyer Manu Prabhakar Kulkarni is likely to be heard by the Karnataka High Court on Friday. Shone George, the petitioner in the case, said that Veena Vijayan’s involvement in filing the petition is an implicit admission of her guilt.
The SFIO team inspected the corporate office of the CMRL at Aluva in Kochi on Monday and Tuesday as part of its probe into the alleged payments made by the company to the firm owned by Veena Vijayan, political leaders, and others.
The SFIO team also conducted a probe at the Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation (KSIDC) head office in Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday. A three-member team headed by SFIO deputy director Arun Prasad reached the KSIDC head office in Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday morning and scrutinised documents related to the state-run entity’s transactions. The KSIDC, an organisation under the Department of Industries of Kerala government, holds a 13.4% stake in the CMRL.
The KSIDC has approached the Kerala High Court for a stay on the SFIO probe against it. However, the Kerala High Court on Wednesday declined to stay the ongoing investigation by the SFIO in the state-run KSIDC.
Rejecting the KSIDC plea to stay the ongoing investigation proceedings by the SFIO, Justice Devan Ramachandran asked the KSIDC it was afraid of the investigation.
“If you have nothing to hide then why should you be afraid of the probe,” the court asked the KSIDC counsel.
The Ministry of Corporate Affairs on 31 January issued an order handing over the probe into the affairs of Exalogic Solutions, the firm owned by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s daughter Veena Vijayan, as well as the CMRL and the KSIDC to the Serious Fraud Investigation Office. A six-member team has been assigned to the investigation, with Deputy Director M Arun Prasad designated as the investigating officer.