CMRL-PMLA case: Govt bound to take legal action on ED letter, says Chennithala

Thiruvananthapuram, Sep 8 (PTI) Keralam Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala on Tuesday said the government was bound to take legal action on the ED's letter seeking an FIR against former chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan, his daughter T Veena and son-in-law P A Mohamed Riyas in the alleged CMRL bribery case.

Chennithala said the Enforcement Directorate's letter, received by state Police Chief Ravada A Chandrasekhar, had been forwarded to the Home Secretary for examination and a decision would be taken after receiving his recommendation.

Further action would be taken based on the Home Secretary's recommendation, and after consultation with Chief Minister V D Satheesan, he told reporters here.

"The government is bound to take the legally required action. This is a letter given after the ED has already conducted a probe. So, we cannot ignore that. If legal advice needs to be sought, it will be sought," Chennithala said in response to questions from reporters.

Earlier in the day, Chennithala said he had spoken to the DGP, who told him that he had received the letter only about 10 minutes earlier.

"The DGP will examine the letter. After examining the letter, a decision will be taken on what action needs to be taken as per law. If the DGP receives a letter, he will act as per the prescribed procedure. You please wait for that," Chennithala said.

The ED has sent the communication under Section 66(2) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, citing findings of its investigation in the case, sources told PTI.

The provision under the anti-money laundering law empowers the ED to share findings of its criminal investigation with a law enforcement agency for registration of a fresh FIR or complaint. The ED can register a PMLA case on the basis of such a police case.

The ED has sought registration of a police FIR by the Keralam DGP against Vijayan, Veena, Riyas and some others on the basis of "evidence" gathered during its probe and searches conducted in the case under the PMLA, the sources said.

The ED has alleged that Keralam-based mining firm Cochin Minerals and Rutile Ltd made fraudulent payments of Rs 2.78 crore to Veena's now-defunct company Exalogic Solutions under the guise of "IT consultancy services".

The federal agency had raided premises linked to Veena, who was living with Vijayan at a rented accommodation in Thiruvananthapuram, in June and subsequently questioned her.

Chandrasekhar said a detailed letter had been received from the federal agency seeking registration of an FIR against Vijayan, Veena and Riyas in the alleged CMRL bribery case.

The 25-page letter, received at the police headquarters here, would be analysed before further action was taken, he said, adding that its legal aspects also needed to be examined.

"Once we have analysed the letter and examined the legal aspects of the matter, the necessary action will be taken," the state police chief told reporters.

Responding to the developments, KPCC president and Electricity Minister Sunny Joseph said, as per his understanding, the ED's letter contained details of crores of rupees allegedly involved in illegal transactions and that the police would take the necessary legal action.

Joseph said that when allegations were raised against Veena, she had neither rejected them nor been prepared to face them legally.

"This is a proven case and admitted facts are there in it. The admitted facts need not be proved," he said.

He urged the CPI(M) leadership to respond to the development and cooperate with the investigation by accepting the facts instead of trying to justify the actions of those facing allegations. PTI