How a ledger titled after CMRL's CFO helped investigating agencies

New Delhi: A "unique ledger" allegedly maintained by brass of embattled Kerala firm CMRL helped probe agencies unearth alleged "fraudulent cash flows" to CMRL from various sources, people in the know told ET.

The ledger named "Suresh Kumar KS (KSS)" is also under the scanner of ED probing money laundering charges against CMRL, a public limited company based in Kerala. KSS was serving as the chief financial officer (CFO) of Cochin Minerals and Rutile Limited (CMRL). The ledger was maintained from the financial year 2006-07.

"This unique ledger exclusively recorded cash withdrawals and deposits indicating cash advances taken and repaid. It was revealed that this practice served as a mechanism for tracking fraudulent cash inflows from various sources, continuing until an income-tax search prompted its discontinuation," reads the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) report. The report placed before a Kerala Court last year was recently shared with ED.


SFIO alleged that KSS colluded with CMRL's MD Sasidharan Kartha and "others to facilitate unauthorised payments totalling ₹182 crore to various persons/entities, all based on MD's instructions". It alleged that KSS played a "critical role" in facilitating a complex network of financial irregularities and fraudulent activities, collaborating closely with the MD.

ED last month quizzed KSS at its Kochi office. The agency is probing money laundering charges allegedly involving CMRL, its directors and Veena Vijayan, daughter of former Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan. The key allegation is that CMRL made illegal payments of large sums to Exalogic Solutions Pvt Ltd, an IT firm owned by Veena Vijayan, who was quizzed by ED at its Kochi office earlier this month. SFIO report alleges that "cash utilisation at CMRL was primarily directed by MD and CFO or CGM finance. Cash payments were made under the explicit instructions of MD, or in his absence, CFO or CGM finance".

It adds "after cash disbursement, transactions were recorded on loose sheets. These records, prepared by cashier Vasudevan, were submitted to K Suresh Kumar for review and safekeeping. Notably, these loose sheets were later recovered by the Income-Tax Department during a search at CMRL on January 25, 2019, at the residence of CFO, as documented in a letter dated April 8, 2004, to SFIO".

"K Suresh Kumar signed falsified financial statements, fully aware of their inaccuracies... As a close confidant...he oversaw fraudulent cash outflows...," it added. ED is also investigating the "dual role" of a chartered accountant P Suresh Kumar as company secretary and CGM finance which "enabled a scheme that manipulated financial documentation and redirected corporate funds into private entities, leading to significant financial misreporting", people in the know told ET.