Pinarayi Vijayan named first accused in monthly payoff case; Two FIRs registered

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The vigilance department has registered FIRs against opposition leader Pinarayi Vijayan, his daughter Veena, and her husband, former minister P A Mohammed Riyas, based on a letter from the Enforcement Directorate (ED) over the financial transactions between CMRL and Exalogic. Two cases have been registered. The first relates to the financial transactions between CMRL and Exalogic, in which Pinarayi Vijayan is the first accused and Veena is the second accused. The second case concerns allegations that corruption money was transferred abroad when Riyas was a minister. In this case, Riyas is the first accused and Veena is the second accused.

The case has been registered under the Prevention of Corruption Act. A special team will also be formed today to investigate the case. Pinarayi Vijayan is expected to file an appeal today. He will inform the court that the high court issued its order without hearing his arguments. The high court had ordered a Vigilance investigation on a petition seeking a direct case registration and investigation based on the letter the Enforcement Directorate (ED) sent to the Kerala State Police Chief (DGP). Justice A Badharudeen had also quashed the DGP's order constituting a special team to investigate the details mentioned in the ED's letter.

The court directed the vigilance director in Thiruvananthapuram to register an FIR under the Prevention of Corruption Act. It observed that the letter and documents submitted by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) contained sufficient facts to warrant the direct registration of an FIR. The documents also included statements from witnesses and suspected individuals. The information provided by the ED indicated that the accused had allegedly committed offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act (PC Act).

The court also clarified that, after dismissing the revision petition, the information was forwarded to the DGP for FIR registration under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. Therefore, orders issued by either the high court or the Supreme Court would not stand in the way of an effective investigation, the court stated. The order was issued on the 9th of this month in response to a petition filed by K M Shajahan, former additional private secretary to V S Achuthanandan.