Kochi: The Enforcement Directorate on Tuesday conducted fresh searches at multiple locations in Kerala as part of its money laundering investigation linked to the CMRL case, in which former chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan's daughter Veena T was questioned, officials said.
Officials said eight locations in the state are being covered as part of the action under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
The agency is probing an allegation that Cochin Minerals and Rutile Ltd (CMRL) made fraudulent payments worth ₹2.78 crore to Veena's now-defunct company Exalogic Solutions under the guise of ‘IT consultancy services’.
CMRL came under the scanner of central agencies after an Income Tax Department raid in January 2019 allegedly detected irregularities, including suspected fictitious expenditure amounting to around ₹130 crore.
The federal agency had conducted searches at locations linked to Veena, who was living with Vijayan at a rented accommodation in Thiruvananthapuram, in June and subsequently questioned her.