Why ED Raided Ex-Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan’s Home | The CMRL-Exalogic Case Explained

Kerala woke up to a shock on Wednesday morning as former Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's residence and 10 other locations related to his family and senior executives from Cochin Minerals and Rutile Limited (CMRL) were raided and searched by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). 

Searches are reportedly being conducted in Bengaluru, Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi, Kozhikode, and Kannur. Vijayan's rented home in Thiruvananthapuram, his home in Pinarayi in the Kannur district, his son-in-law and former minister Muhammad Riyas' home in Kozhikode, and the residences of key CMRL executives, including managing director Sasidharan Kartha, are among the properties being inspected.

According to PTI Vijayan, a politburo member of the CPI(M), and his family members were inside his rented residence at Bakery junction in the state capital during the searches.

The raid of the properties of the former CM and his family stems from their involvement in the 2023 CMRL case.

What was the case?

The case centres around allegations that Kochi-based minerals and chemicals company CMRL made payments to Exalogic Solutions, an IT firm linked to Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s daughter Veena T, without receiving any services in return.

The controversy surfaced in 2023 after Income Tax raids at CMRL, which operates in Kerala’s mineral-sand sector. Investigators alleged that the company paid around Rs 1.72 crore to Exalogic Solutions between 2017-18 and 2018-19 under agreements related to software development, consultancy and management services. However, the Income Tax Department claimed no such services were actually provided, and its Interim Board of Settlement later described the transactions as “illegal payments”.

Following the tax probe, the Enforcement Directorate launched a money laundering investigation under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in 2024, based on a complaint filed by the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO). The SFIO had separately begun examining Exalogic Solutions and CMRL’s wider financial dealings after the Income Tax findings.

During the investigation, agencies alleged that CMRL had made substantial payments to several political figures, whose identities were allegedly recorded through abbreviations found in seized documents. Investigators claimed the suspected beneficiaries belonged to multiple political parties.

The SFIO later estimated the alleged benefit to Exalogic at around Rs 2.73 crore. Investigators alleged the payments were falsely shown as business expenses despite no services being delivered, while the ED is examining whether the transactions generated “proceeds of crime” under the PMLA.

Recent ED searches were conducted as part of this ongoing probe, a day after the Kerala High Court dismissed a petition filed by CMRL seeking to quash the ED proceedings, allowing the agency to continue its investigation.

CPI(M) Claim Politically Motivated Raids

CPI(M) general secretary M A Baby on Wednesday alleged that the ED raids were "politically motivated" and termed them a "heinous attack".

Citing reports, he claimed that two ministers in the cabinet of the current Chief Minister, V D Satheesan, also allegedly received money from the Cochin Minerals and Rutile Ltd (CMRL), and the same should have been investigated.

"That was the first thing which should have been investigated," he contended.

"Is the Congress-led UDF in Kerala complicit in this raid?" he asked, suggesting that the episode warranted scrutiny over possible political coordination.

Senior CPI(M) leader P Jayarajan alleged that the ED raids at the residence of Vijayan and others were part of a "joint Congress-BJP operation" and their "grand design".

"Menon Satheesan and Modi had a meeting. Right after that, raids were carried out at the permanent and rented homes of Vijayan and the house of his son-in-law, P A Mohamed Riyas." "This is all part of a clear plan, a grand design. I believe the people will see it for what it truly is," he added.

In a Facebook post, Riyas, who is also Veena's husband and a CPI(M) state secretariat member, said, "You may surround and attack us however you want. But we will not bow before the Sangh Parivar. We will continue fighting until our final breath." CPI(M) state secretary M V Govindan told reporters in Thiruvananathapuram that the case against Vijayan was “deliberately fabricated” and asserted that there was no evidence against either the former chief minister or anyone associated with him.

“What is happening against Pinarayi Vijayan now is a politically motivated attack and an exercise in imagination,” he said.

Exalogic and Veena T have insisted that the payments were a part of legal business arrangements and denied any misconduct. The central agency investigations are politically motivated, according to the CPI(M) on multiple occasions. So far, no court has found Veena T, Exalogic, CMRL, or Pinarayi Vijayan guilty in this matter.

The CPI(M) and other Left parties staged demonstrations around Kerala in response to the searches on Wednesday.

Investigation to Continue

Investigators are anticipated to keep reviewing financial documents, electronic devices, and statements gathered during the searches after the Kerala High Court declined to halt the ED proceedings. If the agency determines that the alleged transactions produced proceeds of crime, it may request the attachment of assets and summon other people for questioning.

With PTI inputs.