R Vaithilingam
Credit: Facebook/@vaithilingam
Chennai: Sleuths from the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday swooped down on the premises linked to former AIADMK minister R Vaithilingam, who now owes allegiance to O Panneerselvam, in connection with a suspected money laundering case.
The raid on Vaithilingam is significant as he is known as the only supporter of Panneerselvam, who is an ally of the ruling BJP at the Centre. The former Chief Minister’s political stock has been down for the past few years and he was forced to contest as an independent candidate in the Lok Sabha polls in 2024 as part of the BJP alliance.
The action by the ED comes a month after the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) booked Vaithilingam, former housing minister and expelled AIADMK leader, and his family members for allegedly receiving bribe from a real estate major in lieu of granting planning permission for a housing project.
Sources said the ED has now stepped into check whether there was any money laundering involved in the transaction. They added that the premises owned by Vaithilingam and his relatives across the state were searched following which the ED sleuths went to the office of the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) in search of records.
The DVAC FIR says Shriram Properties routed Rs 27.9 crore bribe money to a shell company run by the family of Vaithilingam for grant of permission for planning of a residential complex when he was housing minister.
The real estate major had sought permission to construct about 1,500 residential housing units and office space on a 58 acre plot in Perungalathur on the Chennai-Tiruchirapalli national highway.
The FIR was filed based on a complaint filed by Arappor Iyakkam, an anti-corruption NGO run by Jayaram Venkatesan, with the DVAC.
Vaithilingam was housing minister from 2011 to 2016 during the AIADMK regime. The FIR said Shriram Properties submitted a planning permission proposal before the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) for construction of an office-cum-residential complex in Perungalathur in December 2013.