The Kerala High Court on Tuesday issued notices to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, his daughter Veena Thaikandiyil (Veena Vijayan) and others in a revision petition filed by Congress MLA Mathew Kuzhalnadan against the order of Thiruvananthapuram Vigilance Court, dismissing his complaint seeking vigilance inquiry into alleged illegal financial dealings between Cochin Minerals and Rutile Limited (CMRL) and Veena’s Company Exalogic Solutions.
Besides the Chief Minister, his daughter Veena, a single bench of Justice K Babu also issued notice to Veena’s firm Exalogic Solutions, and the mining company Cochin Minerals and Rutile Limited (CMRL), seeking their stand on Kuzhalanadan’s revision petition. The court posted the matter for hearing on July 7.
Kuzhalnadan moved the High Court after Thiruvanantapuram’s Vigilance Court last month rejected his plea for an investigation against Chief Minister Vijayan and his daughter Veena over the alleged financial transactions between the private mining company CMRL and Exalogic Solutions, the IT firm of his daughter Veena.
In his complaint, Mathew Kuzhalnadan has alleged that CMRL made some bogus payment to Exalogic Solutions and Veena Thaikandiyil to obtain favours from the CM and for the smooth functioning of the company. Exalogic Solutions is a one-person company with Veena Thaikandiyil, daughter of the Chief Minister, as its sole director.
He further alleged that a monthly payment of Rs 3,00,000 was made to Exalogic Solutions allegedly on the pretext of availing its IT and marketing consultancy. Further, an amount of Rs 5,00,000 was paid monthly to Veena Thaikandiyil, allegedly in the pretext of engaging her as an IT and Marketing Consultant.
Earlier on March 31, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs ordered a Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) probe into the affairs of Exalogic Solutions as well as CMRL and Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation (KSIDC)
In the last week of March, Kochi unit of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had registered an Enforcement Case Investigation Report (ECIR) — similar with a First Information Report(FIR) in criminal cases — against Veena Vijayan’s company under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 and started a probe into the transactions.