Kerala High Court issues notice to Veena Vijayan and 11 others in a plea by BJP leader Shone George over alleged Rs 2.7 crore corporate fraud. SFIO flagged bogus transactions between CMRL, Exalogic, and shell companies in its investigation report.
Kochi: Today, on July 23, the Kerala High Court has issued notice to Veena Vijayan and 11 others based on a petition filed by BJP leader Shone George. The case is related to an alleged corporate fraud and illegal money transfers involving Cochin Minerals and Rutile Ltd (CMRL) and Exalogic Solutions Pvt Ltd.
Justice CS Dias passed the order and has posted the matter for further hearing after four weeks.
ALSO READ: Mehul Choksi in Belgium for Suspected Cancer Treatment Amid PNB Loan Fraud Case
The people and companies who received the notices include Cochin Minerals and Rutile Ltd, Sasidharan Kartha, P Suresh Kumar, KS Suresh Kumar, Saran S Kartha, KA Saghesh Kumar, Muraleekrishnan AK, Nipuna International Pvt Ltd, Sasja India Pvt Ltd, Anil Ananda Panicker, Veena Thaikkandiyil (also known as Veena Vijayan), and Exalogic Solutions Pvt Ltd.
This new petition by Shone George is based on a previous legal case, in which the Kerala High Court had allowed the petitioner to seek suitable legal remedies depending on the findings of the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO).
Now, after the SFIO completed its probe and submitted the final investigation report to the Special Court, the petitioner has approached the High Court again asking for a more detailed investigation.
According to the SFIO report, Veena Vijayan, Exalogic Solutions, Cochin Minerals and Rutile Ltd (CMRL), and the company’s managing director Sasidharan Kartha were allegedly involved in fake financial dealings and wrongful transactions.
The report says that Veena Vijayan and her company Exalogic received Rs 2.7 crore without offering any actual service.
The money was allegedly routed through shell companies like Nipuna International Pvt Ltd and Sasja India Pvt Ltd to make the transactions appear legal.
The SFIO relied on various sections of the Companies Act, especially Section 447 which talks about “punishment for fraud” and carries a strict jail term of up to 10 years and a fine that can go up to three times the money involved.
ALSO READ: Delhi High Court: Serious Fraud Cases Should Be Handled by Civil Courts, Not Arbitrators
Other sections invoked were Section 448 (false statements), Section 129 (financial statement), and Section 134 (board’s report and financial statement), claiming that these payments were wrongly shown as company expenses to hide illegal money.
As per the SFIO’s stand,
“Rs 2.7 crore was paid to Veena Vijayan and Exalogic without any actual services rendered,” and this money was “allegedly routed through shell companies Nipuna International Pvt Ltd and Sasja India Pvt Ltd.” The report also mentioned that the payments were recorded as company expenses “to divert unaccounted money.”
Even though the SFIO looked into violations of the Companies Act, Shone George argued that this is not enough. In his plea to the High Court, he said that the investigation did not look into the real reason or intention behind these money transactions or the exact role of those who received the funds.
According to the petition,
“the SFIO report confined its investigation to the Companies Act and chose not to examine the motive or role of the recipients of these funds.”
The petitioner believes that the findings in the SFIO report point to deeper issues like corruption and money laundering.
Therefore, he asked the Court to direct further investigation under other serious laws like the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the Prevention of Corruption Act, and even the Representation of People Act.
The petition added that
“there should be further investigation into the alleged large scale corporate fraud, money laundering, and corruption revolving around Cochin Minerals and Rutile Ltd, Exalogic Solutions Pvt Ltd, and their associates.”
Shone George was represented in Court by a team of lawyers led by Senior Advocate Shinu J Pillai and supported by advocates Mariya Rajan, S Suja, Ann Mariya John, and Felix Samson Varghese.
Case Title:
Shone George v Ministry of Corporate Affairs & Ors
Click Here to Read More Reports On Fraud Case
