Who Is Veena Vijayan, Kerala CM's Daughter Embroiled In Controversies?

Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala: Chief Minister Pinaray Vijayan’s daughter and entrepreneur T Veena, has been facing the heat of an Enforcement Directorate (ED) investigation in an alleged money laundering case over “illegal payment.” After the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) filed a chargesheet against Veena, the ED is all set to begin a probe against the entrepreneur. Veena has been under the scanner of several probe agencies after an Income Tax (IT) department report in 2023, in connection with the Kochi-based Cochin Minerals and Rutile Limited (CMRL).

Who Is T. Veena, Chief Minister Pinaray Vijayan’s Daughter 

Born in 1983 in Thiruvananthapuram, Veena completed her schooling in the capital city. She completed her graduation and diploma from Coimbatore. Controversies surrounding Veena began as early as the 2000s when she took admission to a self-financed college. In 2011, Kunhanandan Nair, the former veteran left leader who was expelled from the CPM in 2005, came up with the revelation that then CPM state secretary (now chief minister) Pinarayi Vijayan had approached a business executive, Captain Krishnan Nair, to arrange an engineering seat for his daughter in a self-financed college in the year 2000.

Read Also: ED Registers Money Laundering Case Against Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan’s Daughter

Reportedly, Veena did not possess the required mark to earn admission in the merit quota back then. Nair claimed that though he reminded the then CPM state chief about the possibility of criticism, especially at a time when widespread protest by the SFI and the DYFI against the allocation of self-financing colleges is happening, the latter ignored it and asked him move on.

After completing her studies, Veena joined Oracle in 2006 and worked for six consecutive years. The public scrutiny over Veena’s career emerged after she was directly appointed as CEO of R P Techsoft international company, an IT venture under the Middle East-based R P Group. Several alleged irregularities concerning Veena’s appointment soon surfaced, denoting she only possess six years’ work experience at Oracle for taking up CEO’s role.

In 2014, Veena quit R P Techsoft and founded her own software consultancy company, Exalogic Solutions Private Limited. She reportedly stated that she started the company using her mother’s retirement money. Many have pointed out the irony of CPM leader’s daughter starting an IT company in Bengaluru, contradicting her father’s party’s ideals of making Kerala an IT destination.

In 2022, Exalogic Solutions received the status of a dormant company, making it clear that the company does not engage in business and generate income, and is exempted from filling out annual financials and submitting tax returns. However, with the Dormant status, the company can resume operations anytime as it is not temporarily closed.

The major controversy regarding the chief minister’s daughter emerged when Swapna Suresh, prime accused in the 2020 Thiruvananthapuram gold smuggling case, alleged that Veena was the mastermind behind the controversial Sprinklr deal. The deal with a US-based tech firm allegedly breached the privacy of 1.75 lakh people under quarantine during the Dec 19 in the state while handling their data.

The opposition Congress accused the ruling government of allowing the Sprinklr to collate and handle the health data of people without receiving their individual consent. The data, including details of their symptoms and underlying health conditions, was compiled by workers at the grassroots level using a tool developed by Sprinklr with the aim of assisting doctors and medical officials in making an informed choice about possible hospitalisation. In addition, Swapna had also named the chief minister, his wife Kamala, daughter Veena, two top aides of Vijayan and one Cabinet minister for being part of the gold smuggling case.

Read Also: Paytm Fined Rs 5.45 Crore For Alleged Money Laundering

The ED’s current threat to the chief minister’s daughter is in connection with an income tax case dating back to 2023. As per the report, Veena’s now-defunct information technology firm, Exalogic Solutions Private Limited, received an “illegal payment” of Rs 1.72 crore from Cochin Minerals and Rutile Limited (CMRL) in 2018-2019, although it did not provide any service. The SFIO, under the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, has launched a probe against Veena’s firm, after the Karnataka High Court rejected a petition filed by Exalogic Solutions challenging the said probe.

The Union Ministry of Corporate Affairs last week approved prosecution proceedings against Veena after the SFIO filed a chargesheet naming the chief minister’s daughter. Reacting to the latest development, the chief minister on Wednesday, April 9, said he does not consider charges against his daughter Veena “seriously”, dismissing the calls by the opposition for his resignation.

The 42-year-old married then-national president of the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) and now PWD minister PA Muhammad Riyas in 2020. The market value of Veena’s self-acquired assets is Rs 1,28,81200, as per a report by Indian Express citing her affidavit as consultancy.