Thiruvananthapuram: The Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) has recorded the statement of Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's daughter Veena Vijayan in connection with a case related to alleged illegal financial transactions in her IT firm Exalogic.
It has been reported that Veena appeared before the SFIO office in Chennai's Rajajisala last Wednesday and pronounced her statement to investigating officer Arun Prasad. Veena's husband and Kerala PWD and Tourism Minister Mohamed Riyas was also in Chennai on Wednesday. Veena and her husband returned to Thiruvananthapuram late Wednesday night.
The controversy erupted after a media report, quoting an Income Tax Department official, claimed that Veena's firm had received Rs 1.72 crore from mining company CMRL, in which the state-owned Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation (KSIDC) has a stake. However, Veena clarified that the payments were made for software services provided by her company to CMRL. The SFIO started probing this case in January 2024, sparking a major political controversy in Kerala as the opposition accused the Chief Minister and his family of corruption.
Meanwhile, the SFIO has collected information from Veena's Exalogic company on several occasions, and the final report is to be submitted to the court in the upcoming month.
The action is based on Shaun George's complaint that Veena and her company obtained money illegally from CMRL, which had paid Rs 1.72 crore to her between 2017 and 2020.
The Registrar of Companies started an investigation against Veena's Exalogic based on the order of the Union Ministry of Corporate Affairs. Subsequently, the SFIO took over the investigation and sought documents from Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation (KSIDC), a public sector company, and CMRL. Exalogic and KSIDC had approached the court against the investigation.
