Kerala: Noose tightens around Veena Vijayan; SFIO to probe case against Exalogic
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's daughter Veena Vijayan's company Exalogic will be investigated by the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) over allegations of serious company fraud.
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FollowThiruvananthapuram: The Centre has assigned the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) to look into claims of fraud involving Veena Vijayan's company Exalogic and Cochin Minerals and Rutile Limited (CMRL), which is a major blow to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. Under the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, SFIO looks into serious company fraud. The allegations will be examined by a team of six people under the direction of additional director Prasad Adelli.
Also read: Exalogic irregularities: Rs 55 crore from CMRL moved to Veena Vijayan, not her firm, says ROC
Meanwhile, the investigative team will include senior officials from the Ministry of Corporate Affairs. The team will submit a report in eight months.
The public-sector firm KSIDC will also be a part of the SFIO investigation against Exalogic. Under the SFIO's purview will also be the Exalogic-CMRL transaction probe.
The current investigation by the Registrar of Companies is under Section 212 A&C of the Companies Act. This was handed over to the SFIO. The investigation by the Serious Fraud Investigation Office is in the public interest and based on a preliminary investigation report. The Bengaluru ROC and Ernakulam ROC, which conducted a preliminary inquiry into Shaun George's complaint, had found serious violations in the Exalogic-CMRL deal.
It is reported that the companies could not even give accurate answers to the questions of the Registrar of Companies. The reply given by KSIDC is also ambiguous. It was suggested that the case should be investigated by the Serious Fraud Investigation Office as a serious crime had been detected in the preliminary investigation itself. Complainant Shone George had approached the High Court seeking this investigation.
The Ministry of Corporate Affairs announced the inquiry while the High Court was considering this petition. The ROC had already found in the preliminary investigation that the CBI and the ED could investigate the case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act as the charges under the Prevention of Corruption Act were prima facie established. This too has been taken into consideration by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs.
Initially, the SFIO could ask the three corporations for information regarding the contentious deal. Another option is to give a company representative a call or carry out a direct examination. The organisation with the authority to look into crimes, including making arrests and bringing charges, is the SFIO.
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