<p>Thiruvananthapuram: In a major embarrassment to Kerala Chief Minster Pinarayi Vijayan, the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO), an agency under the ministry of corporate affairs, has reportedly initiated prosecution steps against the Chief Minister's entrepreneur daughter Veena T in connection with the shady transactions with a mining firm.</p><p>The Congress and BJP have demanded resignation of Vijayan alleging that the shady deals were illegal gratifications to the Chief Minister.</p>.Kerala CM Vijayan's daughter Veena T quizzed by SFIO over money received from controversial mining firm.<p>It is learnt that SFIO already got prosecution nod from the ministry and filed charge sheet at a special court for economic offences in Kochi. The probe by SFIO found that there was a fraudulent transaction of Rs. 2.70 crore from the mining firm Cochin Minerals and Rutiles Limited (CMRL) and a firm associated with its promoter Sasidharan Kartha to Veena and her Bengaluru-based firm Exalogic Solutions.</p><p>The case was based on the remarks in a report of the Income Tax interim settlement board that CMRL firm paid Rs. 1.72 crore to the Chief Minister's daughter and her firm. Subsequently the SFIO initiated the probe as it was prima faice found that the payment was made by the mining firm to the Chief Minister's daughter's firm with out rendering any service. </p><p>Though CMRL maintained that the payments were made for IT services rendered, there was not documents to prove it. SFIO had earlier taken the statement of Veena in this regard.</p><p>The shady deals of the Chief Minister's daughter with the mining firm assumed much significance as the firm was already facing serious allegations of smuggling mineral rich sand from the Kollam-Alappuzha coastal areas under the cover of development of the spillway for flood management of nearby Kuttanad region.</p><p>The serious blow to VIjayan has also come up at a time when the CPI(M) party congress is progressing at Madurai.</p><p>The CPI(M) is likely to reiterate its earlier defensive that the move against Veena, who is also the wife of state tourism minister Mohammed Riyas, is part of the misuse of central agencies by the BJP government at the centre against political opponents. </p><p>Last week the Kerala High Court had dismissed petitions seeking a probe against the Chief Minister's daughter. Congress MLA Mathew Kuzhalnadan and activist Gireesh Babu had sought probe into the suspicious financial transactions of controversial mining firm.</p><p>A recent breakfast meeting hosted by Vijayan to union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Delhi had also triggered allegations from his political opponents that it was a bid to influence the SFIO probe.<br></p>
<p>Thiruvananthapuram: In a major embarrassment to Kerala Chief Minster Pinarayi Vijayan, the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO), an agency under the ministry of corporate affairs, has reportedly initiated prosecution steps against the Chief Minister's entrepreneur daughter Veena T in connection with the shady transactions with a mining firm.</p><p>The Congress and BJP have demanded resignation of Vijayan alleging that the shady deals were illegal gratifications to the Chief Minister.</p>.Kerala CM Vijayan's daughter Veena T quizzed by SFIO over money received from controversial mining firm.<p>It is learnt that SFIO already got prosecution nod from the ministry and filed charge sheet at a special court for economic offences in Kochi. The probe by SFIO found that there was a fraudulent transaction of Rs. 2.70 crore from the mining firm Cochin Minerals and Rutiles Limited (CMRL) and a firm associated with its promoter Sasidharan Kartha to Veena and her Bengaluru-based firm Exalogic Solutions.</p><p>The case was based on the remarks in a report of the Income Tax interim settlement board that CMRL firm paid Rs. 1.72 crore to the Chief Minister's daughter and her firm. Subsequently the SFIO initiated the probe as it was prima faice found that the payment was made by the mining firm to the Chief Minister's daughter's firm with out rendering any service. </p><p>Though CMRL maintained that the payments were made for IT services rendered, there was not documents to prove it. SFIO had earlier taken the statement of Veena in this regard.</p><p>The shady deals of the Chief Minister's daughter with the mining firm assumed much significance as the firm was already facing serious allegations of smuggling mineral rich sand from the Kollam-Alappuzha coastal areas under the cover of development of the spillway for flood management of nearby Kuttanad region.</p><p>The serious blow to VIjayan has also come up at a time when the CPI(M) party congress is progressing at Madurai.</p><p>The CPI(M) is likely to reiterate its earlier defensive that the move against Veena, who is also the wife of state tourism minister Mohammed Riyas, is part of the misuse of central agencies by the BJP government at the centre against political opponents. </p><p>Last week the Kerala High Court had dismissed petitions seeking a probe against the Chief Minister's daughter. Congress MLA Mathew Kuzhalnadan and activist Gireesh Babu had sought probe into the suspicious financial transactions of controversial mining firm.</p><p>A recent breakfast meeting hosted by Vijayan to union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Delhi had also triggered allegations from his political opponents that it was a bid to influence the SFIO probe.<br></p>