A division bench of the Kerala High Court on Monday reserved its ruling on the appeal filed by Cochin Minerals and Rutile Limited (CMRL) against a single judge order of the court allowing the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to investigate money laundering charges against the private mineral company in the monthly payments case.
A bench of Justices Raja Vijayaraghavan V and KV Jayakumar accepted the appeal on file and heard detailed arguments in the case from both sides. The matter was submitted for final judgment on June 5.
The court also orally requested the ED’s attorney not to rush the case until the ruling was issued.
“The learned counsel representing the respondents has undertaken that till 05.06.2026, the DG shall refrain from expediting the cases,” the Supreme Court said in its order.
A bench of single judge T R Ravi on May 26 gave the green light to the ED to probe whether CMRL had carried out money laundering and bribery in connection with its alleged fraudulent dealings with Exalogic Solutions, the now-defunct software company owned by Veena T, daughter of former chief minister and CPI(M) leader Pinarayi Vijayan.
A day later, on May 27, the ED carried out raids at 10 locations in Kerala and Bengaluru, including the residences of Vijayan and his daughter in Kannur and Thiruvananthapuram. ED officials said that they collected details of investments and bank accounts owned by Veena during searches.
CMRL has been under the microscope for the past three years in relation to the monthly payments it made to Veena T and Exalogic. The Income Tax Department’s Interim Adjustment Board found in 2023 that Fina and her company, Exalogic Solutions, received monthly payments amounting to… $1.72 lakh crore from CMRL in a period of three years despite no services being provided in the said period. These payments were allegedly ‘kickbacks’ for services rendered by the erstwhile LDF government in Kerala to CMRL.
The case is currently being investigated by the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) of the Union Ministry of Corporate Affairs, while the Department of Economic Affairs has filed an Initial Enforcement Case Report (ECIR) to check whether the CMRL has violated the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The SFIO filed its chargesheet in the case before a special financial crimes court in Ernakulam.
