Kochi, Jun 25 (PTI) Veena T, daughter of former Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, appeared before the ED in Kochi on Thursday for the second time in a money laundering case linked to her now-defunct IT firm Exalogic Solutions Pvt Ltd and CMRL.

Veena arrived at the ED office here at around 9.20 am, sources said.

She was questioned for over nine hours by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on June 17 in connection with the case registered under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

Though she had initially been asked to appear again on June 29, the date was later advanced and she appeared before the agency on Thursday, they said.

On June 19, ED officials inspected Veena's bank lockers in Thiruvananthapuram as part of the ongoing investigation.

According to ED sources, further questioning was considered necessary after analysing her earlier statement and the evidence collected during the probe.

The ED has also questioned directors and senior officials of Cochin Minerals and Rutile Ltd (CMRL) in recent weeks.

The agency is probing allegations that CMRL paid Rs 2.78 crore to Exalogic Solutions Pvt Ltd, owned by Veena, without receiving any services in return.

According to the ED, another company, Empower India Capital Investments Private Ltd, operated by CMRL Managing Director Sasidharan Kartha, extended loans totalling Rs 50 lakh to Exalogic despite the firm allegedly failing to repay them on time.

The agency has alleged that Veena and the management of CMRL generated "proceeds of crime" through these transactions.

The ED registered the case under the PMLA based on a prosecution complaint filed by the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) before a court in Ernakulam in April 2025.

The SFIO, the investigation arm of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, alleged that Exalogic and CMRL entered into an arrangement under which payments were made without any corresponding services being rendered.

The ED recently obtained documents collected by the SFIO during its investigation after securing permission from a court in Kochi.

CMRL came under the scrutiny of central agencies after an Income Tax Department search in January 2019 allegedly unearthed financial irregularities, including suspected fictitious expenditure of around Rs 130 crore. PTI TBA TBA ROH