The Enforcement Directorate formally petitioned the Kerala state police chief on Tuesday, requesting the registration of a criminal first information report under the Prevention of Corruption Act against former Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and his family members in connection with the Cochin Minerals and Rutile Limited pay-off inquiry.
The statutory communication from the federal financial probe agency followed an extensive forensic review of banking transactions and accounting records seized from the mineral processing firm. Investigators documented that several crores of rupees were disbursed as monthly consultancies to corporate software entities owned by the political leader’s daughter without any demonstrable technical services being rendered.
Agency officials stated that earlier findings recorded by the Interim Board for Settlement under the Income Tax Department confirmed that illicit payoffs were systematically coded under fictitious business expenditure heads to obtain regulatory mining clearances. The ED urged state anti-corruption police to initiate a synchronized probe to prosecute criminal misconduct among public servants.
Opposition parties in Kerala staged demonstrations outside the state secretariat in Thiruvananthapuram, demanding an immediate independent judicial probe into the financial allegations. The ruling political alliance dismissed the move as a politically driven crusade orchestrating selective leaks to tarnish veteran left-wing leadership.
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Sources:
https://www.thehindu.com/news/the-hindu-top-news-of-the-day-september-8-2026-armed-man-posing-as-pmo-official-detained-ahead-of-modis-event-in-mumbai/article71442771.ece