CMRL pay-off case: ED questions company MD’s daughter

Shiby S. Kartha, daughter of Cochin Minerals and Rutile Ltd (CMRL) managing director Sasidharan S. Kartha, was questioned by the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) right here on Monday in reference to the money-laundering case linked to the CMRL pay-off case.

She is likely one of the administrators of a company related to CMRL. The central company had earlier requested Veena T., daughter of former Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, to seem for questioning on June 17 as a part of the probe into the alleged pay-off case involving Exalogic Options Personal Restricted, her now-defunct agency, and CMRL.

The ED is learnt to have requested Ms. Shibi in regards to the alleged fictitious bills involving the CMRL and the company related together with her. She was additionally informed to submit the paperwork associated to the alleged monetary transactions between the companies. The ED had additionally issued notices to Mr. Kartha, Saran S. Kartha, his son and joint managing director, and senior officers of the company to seem for questioning. The probe pertains to allegations that CMRL made funds amounting to ₹2.78 crore to Exalogic with out receiving any providers in return.

The company had on Could 27, 2026 raided the residences of Mr. Vijayan in Kannur and Thiruvananthapuram as a part of the probe into whether or not Ms. Veena’s agency had obtained sizeable month-to-month retainers from CMRL, a personal mining company, throughout the 2017-2021 interval allegedly with out rendering any tangible service.

In line with the ED, one other company, Empower India Capital Investments Personal Restricted (EICPL), operated by Mr. Kartha, had prolonged loans value ₹50 lakh to Exalogic regardless of the company allegedly failing to make well timed repayments.

The ED registered a case underneath the Prevention of Cash Laundering Act on the idea of a prosecution grievance filed by the Critical Fraud Investigation Workplace earlier than a courtroom in Ernakulam in April 2025. In the course of the course of the raids, the ED had frozen ₹18.36 crore in 242 accounts recognized throughout the search operations held within the pay-off case. It had claimed that the searches held as a part of the probe yielded a number of incriminating data, accounts, digital evidences, investments and glued deposits in banks.