Kerala CM’s daughter accused of fraud of crores, Center allowed to prosecute

Veena Vijayan Case: The Left Democratic Front (LDF) government in Kerala has suffered a major setback. The Center has approved a prosecution against the daughter of Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in a corruption case. The Union Ministry of Corporate Affairs has given this approval. His daughter Veena Tea has been accused of illegal activities by Cochin Minerals and Rutil Limited (CMRL).

What is the whole matter?

According to the report, the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) presented its chargesheet before a special Kochi court. According to SFIO, Veena and her firm ‘Excellent Solutions’ have taken Rs 2.73 crore from CMRL. Whereas in return he did not provide any IT services. The SFIO said that a formal agreement was signed between the two organizations, but the payment made was illegal and wrong. In its 160 -page complaint, the SFIO has accused Veena, CMRL Managing Director Shasidharan Kartha and 25 others. It is alleged that this amount was sent through CMRL and its subsidiary Empower India Capital Investment Private Limited. The SFIO concluded that Veena had misused the company’s funds.

The matter first came to light on 8 August 2023. It was reported that the firm of Veena T took Rs 1.72 crore from CMRL between 2017 and 2020, while she did not provide any services. In response to the report, the central government has ordered the SFIO to conduct a thorough investigation into the case.

Opposition reacted

Leader of the Opposition VD Satish reacted strongly to the matter and demanded the resignation of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. He said, ‘SFIO is a serious matter to make the Chief Minister’s daughter Veena Vijayan accused in the case. Veena Vijayan’s company took Rs 2.7 crore only for being the daughter of the Chief Minister without serving. Taking moral responsibility of corruption, the Chief Minister should resign. It is not appropriate for Pinarayi Vijayan to remain the Chief Minister even for a moment. How can he make it appropriate to prosecute his daughter, who is sitting on the post of Chief Minister?

Veena has been accused under Section 447 of the Companies Act 2013. If the accused is convicted under this charge, he can be sentenced to jail from six months to ten years. Along with this, three times the fine of fraud can also have to be paid.