CPI (M) MLA P A Muhammad Riyas dismissed allegations that emerged from an Enforcement Directorate (ED) probe into the Cochin Minerals and Rutile Limited (CMRL) money‑laundering case, saying the claims were deliberately fabricated to defame him.
Riyas accused the ED of pressuring his wife, Veena T, daughter of opposition leader Pinarayi Vijayan, and a close friend to give false statements. He alleged that ED officials threatened his friend’s 22‑year‑old daughter with criminal charges and coerced him to name Vijayan, Veena or himself in the investigation. Riyas also said the agency circulated a statement he claimed Veena never made, and that it repeatedly pressured her to admit Vijayan’s involvement, threatening arrest if she did not cooperate.
The ED has sent a letter to the Director General of Police seeking registration of an FIR against Riyas, his father‑in‑law and former Chief Minister Vijayan, Veena and others in connection with alleged bribery by CMRL. Reports say the agency found a Rs 20 crore transfer by Veena abroad through Riyas’s friends and that CMRL paid Rs 2.78 crore to Veena’s now‑defunct company, Exalogic Solutions, under the pretext of IT consultancy services.
LDF convenor T P Ramakrishnan said the CPI (M) and its bloc would fight the matter both politically and legally. He denied that any court or agency had found wrongdoing and called the allegations a ploy to create suspicion and weaken the Left. Ramakrishnan added that if the claims proved genuine, authorities could act, but he maintained the CPI (M)’s conduct was clean.
