CMRL pay-off case: Pinarayi’s son-in-law and CPI(M) leader Mohamed Riyas vows to ‘legally fight’ ED charges

Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] Keralam State secretariat member and Beypore MLA P.A. Mohamed Riyas has vowed to "legally fight" the latest charges raised by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

In a Facebook post on Thursday (September 10, 2026) morning, he said: "Today's media reports contain fresh, absurd claims related to the ED investigation. If the report leaked by the ED indeed includes such allegations, it is a fabricated story deliberately concocted to assassinate my character. The leaked news claims that I admitted to these matters before the ED; this is an outright lie."

The former Minister for Public Works said some people "derive pleasure from devouring the raw flesh of living human beings through such absurd information — leaked under the guise of an ED investigation."

The post comes against the backdrop of a media report that claimed, quoting a recent letter written by the ED to the State Police Chief (SPC), that Mr. Riyas "illegally" amassed ₹20.5 crore and "diverted" a portion of this wealth to Dubai to "set up a business unit there". This "revelation" is reportedly part of the agency's detailed report on September 7 to the SPC seeking registration of a separate FIR under the Prevention of Corruption Act and other relevant laws against Leader of the Opposition Pinarayi Vijayan, and his daughter and Mr. Riyas' wife, T. Veena, in the Exalogic-Cochin Minerals and Rutile Ltd. pay-off case.

The controversy assumes significance as the CPI(M) is scheduled to hold an an extended three-day State committee meeting in Kozhikode from September 13 to discuss the Left Democratic Font’s drubbing in the 2026 Assembly polls. Mr. Riyas is the organising committee chairperson of the event.

While Mr. Vijayan has termed the ED request as “a shameful subversion of the criminal justice system for political motives”, the United Democratic Front-led State government has decided to examine its legal aspects.