A special court in Kochi, designated to handle cases under the Companies Act, approved a petition on Monday filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) seeking copies of documents compiled by the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) in the CMRL-Exalogic case.
Court Proceedings
During the hearing, counsel representing Cochin Minerals and Rutile Ltd (CMRL) objected to the ED's request. However, the SFIO's legal representative stated that the agency had no objection to sharing the documents with the ED. The court dismissed CMRL's objection and granted the ED's petition, which was moved through Special Public Prosecutor M J Santhosh on Saturday.
Scope of Documents Sought
The ED requested access to all 57 volumes of documents that the SFIO had compiled during its investigation into the matter.
Background of the Case
According to the ED, the Income Tax Department conducted a search at CMRL in January 2019, during which it allegedly identified fake expenses amounting to approximately Rs 130 crore. CMRL reportedly admitted to these fake expenses before the Income Tax Settlement Commission. In its order, the Commission noted findings of various bribes paid by CMRL to multiple individuals, along with admissions made by CMRL personnel.
The ED initiated its probe under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) based on investigations carried out by the SFIO. The SFIO filed a prosecution complaint on April 3, 2025, accusing Sasidharan Kartha and 12 others of corporate fraud before the Additional Sessions Court-VII in Ernakulam.
Allegations of Bribery and Fake Expenses
According to an ED statement, the SFIO's investigations revealed fictitious cash expenses of Rs 182 crore over a span of 15 years, which were allegedly used for bribing various individuals. The agency further claimed that one of the fake expenses booked by CMRL was a payment to Veena T, daughter of former Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. Veena's company, Exalogic Solutions Pvt Ltd, reportedly received fraudulent payments totaling Rs 2.78 crore from CMRL under the guise of IT consultancy services.
