SFIO issues notice to companies seeking details of payments to Exalogic

Thiruvananthapuram/Kochi: The Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) has issued notices to all companies and institutions which were involved in significant financial transactions with Exalogic, a company associated with the Chief Minister's daughter T Veena.

These notices were issued under the Companies Act, requiring that all the documents of the transactions be produced at the Chennai office of the SFIO by March 15. Failure to comply may result in legal action, the notice warned. The SFIO resumed its proceedings after the courts decided in the petitions filed by Exalogic Solutions and KSIDC that investigation in the impugned case could proceed. Twelve establishments have received notices in Kerala alone.

As part of the investigation, the SFIO had examined the bank account details of Exalogic Solutions. The notices were sent based on the information obtained during this inspection. The primary inquiry in the notice is about the nature of transactions these establishments had with Exalogic. The SFIO has called for copies of contracts, work orders, and invoices related to products or services provided by Exalogic. K. Prabhu from the SFIO's Chennai office issued these notices under Section 217(2) to obtain documents from relevant companies.

Funds were transferred to Exalogic through the account of Sasidharan Kartha's rare earth company, Cochin Minerals and Rutile Limited (CMRL) from 2016-17. Both CMRL and Exalogic claim these payments were for IT services. The SFIO discovered that more than 10 firms had conducted substantial transactions with Exalogic during this period. Earlier, the Enforcement Directorate's inspection revealed similar financial activities, though the investigation stalled after taking statements from establishment owners. This information too has been shared with the SFIO.