THIRUVANATHAPURAM: The VACB on Monday registered two FIRs against former Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and his family members in connection with the alleged CMRL bribery case, sources said.
The FIRs were registered through the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB)'s Special Investigation Unit-1, sources said.
Vijayan is the Leader of Opposition in Keralam Assembly now.
The move follows legal advice and a Kerala High Court directive to register a case based on a report submitted by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to the state police.
According to sources, the two cases deal with separate allegations mentioned in the ED report, including payments allegedly made by Cochin Minerals and Rutile Limited (CMRL) to Vijayan's daughter, Veena T, and funds allegedly transferred abroad through hawala channels in connection with payments involving MLA P A Muhammad Riyas, Vijayan's son-in-law.
The FIRs have been registered under various sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act, officials said.
Vijayan is named as the first accused in the case relating to payments made by CMRL, while Riyas is the first accused in the case concerning the alleged transfer of money abroad, sources said.
In both cases, Veena is the second accused, sources said.
There are seven accused persons in the first case related to payments made by CMRL and eight in the second case related to funds sent abroad, officials said.
The Kerala High Court on Friday directed the state government to register a case based on the ED report, which alleged the involvement of Vijayan, Veena and Riyas in payments made by CMRL.
The ED had sought registration of a case based on evidence gathered during its investigation and searches conducted under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
The agency has alleged that CMRL made fraudulent payments of Rs 2.78 crore to Veena's now-defunct company, Exalogic Solutions, under the guise of IT consultancy services.
CPI(M) leader and former minister M B Rajesh termed the FIRs against Vijayan and his family as “match-fixing”.
“The FIR is the result of match-fixing between the ED and VD (V D Satheesan). The UDF government is in cahoots with the ED, misusing the law and the courts for political witch-hunting,” he said.
He said Congress MLA Mathew Kuzhalnadan had earlier approached the Vigilance Court, the Kerala High Court and the Supreme Court with the same contentions, but his petitions were dismissed.
“Other than that, what is actually new in this? Beyond the points Kuzhalnadan raised in court, what else has happened?” he said.
He alleged that the ED's fresh report was based on statements obtained through intimidation and that those who gave them had since retracted them by filing affidavits in court.
“The ED, an agency used day and night to hunt down the opposition, has misused statements extracted under duress without even basic verification to register this case now,” he said.
He said the CPI(M) would fight the case both legally and politically.