SFIO names Vijayan’s daughter as accused in corruption case

The Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) has named Veena T, daughter of Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan, as an accused in its prosecution complaint in an “illegal payment” case, triggering a political uproar in the southern state, with the Opposition Congress and BJP on Thursday demanding the resignation of the CM.

A federal investigating agency under the ministry of corporate affairs, SFIO is mandated to probe serious corporate fraud cases. The present case involving Veena, the director of now-defunct IT firm Exalogic Solutions Pvt Limited, pertains to alleged irregularities in monetary transactions between the firm and Cochin Minerals Rutile Limited (CMRL), a Kerala-based minerals manufacturer.

The summary of charges in the SFIO complaint, seen by HT, showed the federal agency found “fraudulent payments of ₹2.70 crore benefiting Veena and Exalogic” by CMRL.

Veena has been named as an accused under Section 447 (punishment for fraud) of the Companies Act, 2013, while other accused named by the agency include Exalogic Solutions, CMRL managing director Sasidharan Kartha, and Empower India Capital Investments Private Limited, a firm owned by Kartha and his wife.

The SFIO has also charged Kartha and other top officials of CMRL under relevant sections of the 2013 law as well as the Companies Act, 1956, for “fraudulent expenses of ₹182 crore under the guise of sludge handling charges and transportation costs”.

The Union corporate affairs ministry had ordered the SFIO probe against Veena and CMRL in January last year. It was based on the findings of the Interim Settlement Board of the Income Tax department in 2023 that Veena and Exalogic received monthly payments from CMRL to the tune of ₹1.72 crore in a three-year period despite the former rendering no services in the said period. The Board ruled that the payments could not be seen as “business expenses” as claimed by CMRL, since no services were rendered by Exalogic.

Exalogic, the Bengaluru-based IT firm owned by Veena, had signed an agreement with CMRL in 2017 for providing IT marketing, software, and consulting services.

The development triggered a political storm in Kerala, with the leader of the Opposition in the assembly, VD Satheesan, saying CM Vijayan should resign, taking moral responsibility.

“Veena T’s company received ₹2.7 crore as payment despite rendering no services. That’s only because she is the daughter of chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan. The CM must own moral responsibility for corruption and resign. How can he justify remaining in the CM’s position while his daughter faces prosecution proceedings?” the Congress leader said.

“It is now clear that all the charges made by the Opposition have been proved true in the case. In such a serious case, the CPI(M) central leadership must clarify its stance,” he added.

BJP state chief Rajeev Chandrasekhar also demanded Vijayan’s resignation. “This is a case of serious corruption. The investigation must proceed and the CM must resign,” the former Union minister said.

The office of Vijayan, who is currently in Madurai to attend the CPI(M) congress, and Veena did not respond to queries on the matter. Both CM and his party had earlier termed the allegations “baseless”.

Speaking to reporters, CPI(M) state secretary MV Govindan said: “The party faces no problems. We will deal with it. Let more details emerge.”