ED issues fresh summons to former Kerala CM Pinarayi’s daughter Veena in CMRL pay-off case

Account subscription benefits alongside Premium Stories, Editorials, Opinions and more. Unlock these with Subscription

The View From India Looking at World Affairs from the Indian perspective.

First Day First Show News and reviews from the world of cinema and streaming.

Today's Cache Your download of the top 5 technology stories of the day.

Data Point Decoding the headlines with facts, figures, and numbers

Health Matters Ramya Kannan writes to you on getting to good health, and staying there

The Hindu On Books Books of the week, reviews, excerpts, new titles and features.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED), which is probing a money laundering case involving minerals company CMRL, has issued a fresh summons to Veena T, daughter of former Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, directing her to appear for questioning on June 17, sources said on Friday (June 12, 2026).

The ED had earlier asked Ms. Veena to appear before its Kochi unit on Friday.

However, following an email from Ms. Veena seeking more time, citing health issues, the agency issued a fresh summons, sources said.

The ED has asked Ms. Veena to appear at its Kochi office at 10 am on June 17, along with relevant documents related to transactions involving her now-defunct IT firm, Exalogic Solutions Private Limited.

The probe pertains to allegations that Cochin Minerals and Rutile Ltd (CMRL) made payments amounting to ₹2.78 crore to Exalogic without receiving any services in return.

According to the ED, another company, Empower India Capital Investments Private Limited (EICPL), operated by CMRL managing director Sasidharan Kartha, had extended loans worth ₹50 lakh to Exalogic despite the company allegedly failing to make timely repayments.

The agency has alleged that Ms. Veena and the management of CMRL, led by Mr. Kartha, generated “proceeds of crime” through these transactions.

The ED registered a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) on the basis of a prosecution complaint filed by the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) before a court in Ernakulam in April 2025.

The SFIO is the investigation arm of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs.

CMRL came under the scanner of Central agencies following an Income Tax department raid in January 2019, which allegedly detected financial irregularities, including certain expenses suspected to be fictitious and amounting to around ₹130 crore.