CMRL pay-off case: official retracts statement to ED
A former CMRL official has retracted his statement to the Enforcement Directorate, claiming he was intimidated during the investigation into the Exalogic–CMRL pay-off case involving Kerala's opposition leader Pinarayi Vijayan. The retraction complicates the ED's case against the politician and his family.
Why it matters
The retraction raises questions about the integrity of investigative processes in high-profile political corruption cases in India.
A former official of Cochin Minerals and Rutile Limited (CMRL), whose statement had formed the basis for the Enforcement Directorate (ED) recommending the State Police Chief of Kerala to register a First Information Report (FIR) against former Chief Minister and current Opposition Leader Pinarayi Vijayan in the Exalogic–CMRL pay-off case, has submitted a retraction statement to the ED, it has emerged.
The ED had sent a detailed report to the State Police Chief seeking registration of a separate FIR under the Prevention of Corruption Act and other relevant laws against Mr. 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 report accused Mr. Vijayan of receiving a bribe of ₹3.28 crore through his daughter, based on the alleged admission of CMRL’s former Chief Financial Officer and Chief General Manager P. Suresh Kumar.
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