India
Former CMRL Official Retracts Statement in Exalogic-CMRL Pay-off Case
A former official of Cochin Minerals and Rutile Limited (CMRL) has retracted a statement previously provided to the Enforcement Directorate (ED). This original statement had formed the basis for the ED's recommendation to the Kerala State Police Chief to register a First Information Report (FIR) in the Exalogic–CMRL pay-off case. The ED had sought the registration of a separate FIR under the Prevention of Corruption Act and other relevant laws against former Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, former Public Works Minister P.A. Mohamed Riyas, and T. Veena, Mr. Vijayan’s daughter and Mr. Riyas’s spouse, on September 7, 2026.
The ED's report accused Mr. Vijayan of receiving a bribe of ₹3.28 crore through his daughter, based on an alleged admission by CMRL’s former Chief Financial Officer and Chief General Manager P. Suresh Kumar. Mr. Kumar has now submitted a retraction statement to the ED Directorate in Delhi, citing "illegal and high-handed conduct of the officers of the Kochi office of the Enforcement Directorate." He received a summons from the Kochi office on April 16, 2024. In a mail to CMRL dated May 15, 2024, the same day he submitted the retraction, Mr. Kumar stated, "I had submitted statements/clarifications on various questions raised by them relating to our company during interrogation at the ED office. I felt intimidated and pressurised during the recording of my statements."
Following the ED’s report, CPI(M) Kerala State Secretariat member Mr. Riyas held a press conference on September 11, 2026. He alleged that the investigative agency was intimidating individuals into issuing statements against him, Ms. Veena, and Mr. Vijayan, and that these statements were then circulated to the media as official press releases. The ED's report had also accused Mr. Riyas of "receipt of bribes and transfer of such bribe funds to Dubai through Veena and known associates," and alleged that Ms. Veena "assisted Mr. Vijayan and Mr. Riyas in collecting and routing bribe funds."
K.S. Suresh Kumar, the current Chief General Manager of CMRL, also submitted a similarly worded retraction statement to the ED and informed CMRL via email on May 15, 2024. The ED Kochi office had issued him a summons on April 8, 2024.