6 months ago
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The Tamil Nadu Government has ordered an probe into 2 letters sent by the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) levelling superior allegations of corruption involving elder DMK person and Minister of Municipal Administration and Water Supply (MAWS) department, K.N. Nehru.
According to authoritative sources, the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) has launched a elaborate enquiry into some the letters sent to the Director-General of Police (in-charge), G. Venkatraman, with copies marked to Chief Secretary N. Muruganandham. The ED had sought registration of an FIR and probe into the alleged offences.
“Soon aft receiving the complaints, the DGP (in-charge) forwarded them to the State Government for indispensable action. After a elaborate enquiry was ordered, the DVAC has launched an probe into the allegations made by the ED,” a elder authoritative told The Hindu connected Wednesday (January 7, 2026).
The DVAC follows the process of registering a preliminary enquiry and past a elaborate enquiry into complaints of corruption to found prima facie offence earlier registering a case. “The ED has enclosed immoderate documents successful enactment of its allegations of irregularities successful the grant of contracts and occupation recruitment successful 1 of the departments. We person to behaviour our ain probe to found the facts earlier proceeding further...this is the modular operating procedure,” the authoritative said.
“Ruthless corruption”
In 1 of the letters sent to the DGP successful aboriginal December 2025, the ED alleged “ruthless corruption” successful the grant of contracts successful the MAWS department. In its 258-page dossier, the bureau claimed to person unearthed grounds of bribe collections amounting to ₹1,020 crore from contractors who executed assorted projects. The findings were reportedly based connected incriminating materials recovered during searches conducted successful April this year, the sources said.
Providing copies of documents, photographs and WhatsApp chats retrieved from the mobile phones of suspected persons, the bureau said the existent quantum of corruption could beryllium “many times more” than the ₹1,020 crore identified truthful far, and urged the State constabulary to registry a lawsuit and behaviour afloat investigation, the sources said.
According to the ED, grounds intelligibly showed determination was a immense manipulation of authorities contracts/tenders for kickbacks. The bribes ranging from 7.5% to 10% of the worth of authorities contracts were allegedly collected from contractors arsenic “party fund” by the associates of Mr. Nehru, the sources said.
The missive alleged bribes were demanded crossed each categories of work, including assemblage toilets, operation and repair of sweepers’ housing, sanitation outsourcing contracts, and water/lake-related projects. At assorted levels of task clearance and measure processing, different furniture of bribes was allegedly collected, bringing the full to 20-25% of declaration value.
Money laundering probe
The sources said the grounds arose from an ED probe into wealth laundering linked to a slope fraud lawsuit initially registered by the CBI. During searches successful Chennai, Tiruchi and Coimbatore astatine locations connected to individuals adjacent to Mr. Nehru, the bureau said it uncovered grounds indicating wide manipulation successful MAWS tenders. Several documents and integer devices allegedly containing accusation connected “proceeds of crime” were seized.
Although the Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) based connected which those searches were conducted was aboriginal closed oregon quashed, the ED said the materials recovered specified arsenic WhatsApp chats, photographs and documents contained incriminating grounds that was transferred to applicable authorities for further action.
Earlier successful October last, the ED had written to the DGP flagging allegations of corruption successful the recruitment of engineers and readying officers successful the MAWS department. The accusation gathered successful some the cases were shared nether the provisions of Section 66(2) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the sources said, and added that the determination to registry a elaborate enquiry and analyse the allegations was communicated to the ED.
Denying the allegations of corruption, Mr. Nehru, successful a statement, accused the ED of joining the “Opposition”, which could not tummy the achievements of the ‘Dravidian Model’ government. The bureau had go a instrumentality successful the hands of the BJP and was indulging successful a smear run targeting him, helium said.
