CMRL MD S.N. Sasidharan Kartha also retracted ED statement in Exalogic pay-off case
CMRL managing director S.N. Sasidharan Kartha submitted a retraction affidavit to the ED in 2024 in the Exalogic-CMRL pay-off case, joining two other senior company officials who did the same.
The managing director of Cochin Minerals and Rutile Limited (CMRL), S.N. Sasidharan Kartha, submitted a retraction affidavit to the Enforcement Directorate in 2024 concerning statements recorded in the Exalogic-CMRL pay-off case, it has emerged.
Mr. Kartha was questioned by the agency at his residence on April 17, 2024. In his statement recorded under Section 50 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, he is said to have admitted to transferring funds to vendors and withdrawing cash without corresponding genuine expenses. He also admitted to payments made to T. Veena, daughter of former Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, and to her now-defunct firm Exalogic Solutions Pvt. Ltd. without any services being rendered, citing personal ties with Mr. Vijayan.
In an email to CMRL dated May 15, 2024, Mr. Kartha's brother, N. Ajith, said officials had forcefully recorded his brother's statements. The mail stated that a retraction affidavit had been submitted on Mr. Kartha's behalf to the Director of the ED's Delhi office on May 15, 2024.
Two other senior CMRL officials filed similar retractions. Former Chief Financial Officer and Chief General Manager P. Suresh Kumar, who has since resigned from the company, submitted a retraction affidavit to the ED Directorate in Delhi, alleging "illegal and high-handed conduct of the officers of the Kochi office of the ED." In a mail to CMRL dated May 15, 2024 — the same day he filed the retraction — Mr. Kumar said he had felt intimidated and pressurised while his statements were being recorded. The company's current Chief General Manager also submitted a similarly worded retraction statement and wrote to CMRL about it on the same date.
On September 7, 2026, the ED sent a detailed report to the State Police Chief seeking a separate FIR under the Prevention of Corruption Act and other relevant laws against Mr. Vijayan, former Public Works Minister P.A. Mohamed Riyas, and Ms. Veena, who is Mr. Riyas's spouse. The report accused Mr. Vijayan of receiving a bribe of ₹3.28 crore through his daughter, based on the alleged admission of Mr. Suresh Kumar.
At a press conference on September 11, 2026, following the ED's report to the State Police Chief, Mr. Riyas, a CPI(M) State secretariat member, alleged that the investigative agency was intimidating individuals into issuing statements against him, Ms. Veena, and Mr. Vijayan.