Enforcement Directorate directs Veena T to appear at its Kochi zonal office on June 12 for deposition.
Investigation focuses on alleged illegal payments of Rs 2.78 crore from CMRL to Veena’s firm, Exalogic Solutions.
Income Tax Interim Settlement Board previously ruled that payments were made for non-existent IT consultancy services.
The Enforcement Directorate has summoned Veena T, the daughter of former Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan, for questioning this week in a money laundering case, officials claimed.
She has been directed to appear for deposition on June 12 at the central agency's zonal office in Kochi. Her statement will be recorded under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), PTI reported.
The agency has also summoned other unnamed individuals as part of the ongoing inquiry, according to PTI.
The summons follows enforcement action last month, when the ED raided Veena at Vijayan's rented residence in Thiruvananthapuram, alongside searches at several other locations, PTI reported.
Fraudulent payments and loans
The investigation stems from a money laundering case against a Kerala-based sand mining firm, Cochin Minerals And Rutile Ltd (CMRL), and Veena's now-defunct technology company, Exalogic Solutions Private Limited, according to PTI.
The ED is probing allegations that CMRL made fraudulent payments totalling Rs 2.78 crore to Exalogic Solutions, ostensibly for IT consultancy services that were never rendered, PTI reported.
Additionally, Empower India Capital Investment Private Limited (EICPL), a firm operated by CMRL managing director Sasidharan Kartha, extended loans worth Rs 50 lakh to Exalogic. This occurred despite Exalogic failing to make timely repayments on previous obligations, the ED told PTI.
The federal agency said that the management of CMRL, led by Kartha, and Veena generated "proceeds of crime" through these financial arrangements, according to PTI.
Income tax board findings
The current probe has roots in a 2023 ruling by the Income Tax Interim Settlement Board (ITISB), which disallowed CMRL’s tax exemption claims, according to thenewsminute.com. The board found that Rs 1.72 crore paid to Veena and Exalogic Solutions between 2017 and 2020 was for non-existent services, classifying them as "illegal transactions."
During the ITISB proceedings, top CMRL officials admitted under oath that no actual software development or consultancy work was ever delivered by Exalogic, the outlet reported.
Consequently, the board concluded that the payments were made solely because of Veena's relationship with a "prominent person," referring to her father, per thenewsminute.com.
While the initial tax board ruling focused on the Rs 1.72 crore, subsequent investigations by the Serious Fraud Investigation Office and the ED established that the total fraudulent transactions reached Rs 2.78 crore. The agencies found that payments continued even after initial 2019 income tax raids.
