KOCHI: India’s Enforcement Directorate has asked Kerala Police to register a corruption case against former Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, alleging he received ₹3.28 crore in bribes from Cochin Minerals and Rutile Limited (CMRL) through his daughter T Veena, according to a report submitted to the state police chief.

The federal agency has also sought action against Veena and Vijayan’s son-in-law, MLA P A Mohammed Riyas, as part of its investigation into financial transactions involving CMRL and Veena’s now-defunct company Exalogic Solutions Pvt Ltd.

The allegations have not been proven in court, and the state police have yet to decide whether to register a First Information Report (FIR).

Kerala Director General of Police Ravada A Chandrasekhar said he had received a 25-page report from the ED and that further steps would be taken after examining it.

The ED sent its findings to the state police under Section 66(2) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, a provision allowing the agency to share information about suspected offences that fall within the jurisdiction of other authorities.

According to the ED’s findings cited in the report, Vijayan allegedly received ₹3.28 crore from CMRL through Veena. The agency has relied, among other material, on a statement by P Suresh Kumar, a former chief financial officer and general manager of finance at CMRL.

The ED has separately alleged that Riyas was involved in receiving funds and that some money was transferred to Dubai through Veena and other associates. Veena is alleged to have assisted in the collection and movement of the funds.

The agency identified Exalogic as a company allegedly used to route payments that it says were presented as consultancy fees. It has also named CMRL Managing Director S N Sasidharan Kartha and former CFO Suresh Kumar in connection with the alleged transactions.

The investigation initially centred on allegations that CMRL paid ₹2.78 crore to Veena and Exalogic for information technology and consultancy services that investigators allege were not provided. The ED has since widened its investigation into what it describes as a broader money trail.

The agency has alleged that Veena was unable to produce evidence of substantive work performed for CMRL in return for the payments.

The ED has also examined alleged transfers to Dubai. It said in August that handwritten records recovered during searches contained details of transactions involving about ₹20.05 crore in Indian currency and AED 349,000, equivalent to roughly ₹85 lakh, transferred to Dubai.

Investigators are also examining whether funds forming part of the wider financial trail were connected to Riyas’ 2021 Kerala Assembly election campaign and whether any transactions could attract provisions of the Foreign Exchange Management Act.

Veena has previously been questioned by the ED, which has also examined her bank locker and seized electronic and physical material during the investigation.