The Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted searches on Saturday at multiple properties linked to Tamil Nadu Minister and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leader I Periyasamy and his son, in connection with a money laundering investigation.
The raids were carried out in Chennai and Dindigul under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). Officials also searched the premises of the minister’s son, IP Sentilkumar, who is also an MLA. Periyasamy, aged 72, serves as the minister for rural development, panchayats and panchayat unions and represents the Athoor assembly constituency.
Meanwhile, the ruling DMK in Tamil Nadu responded sharply to the ED raids, saying it was an attempt to divert attention from 'vote chori,' a term coined by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over alleged electoral fraud in the 2024 elections that the BJP-led NDA won.
DMK Organisation Secretary RS Bharathi said the party would "neither fear the ED nor Modi" and that the party will face the matter legally.
In a party statement, Bharathi alleged the BJP was using empowered and autonomous bodies as its "election instruments".
The same Bharatiya Janata Party that was accusing others of "illegal money laundering," was running the "politics of vote chori," he alleged in the statement.
"The BJP stands exposed for indulging in electoral fraud by using the Election Commission. The country is shocked over this. To divert attention from the illegal vote chori, the Enforcement Directorate is conducting searches at premises linked to Periyasamy," he alleged.
The ED showing interest in cases filed in the past against DMK leaders after the party came to power is "brazen political vendetta," which even a child can see through, he claimed.
The money laundering probe originates from a Madras High Court order issued in April. The court had directed a special court in Dindigul to file charges against Periyasamy and his family members in a case concerning disproportionate assets valued at ₹2.1 crore.
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This order was a response to criminal revision petitions filed by the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC). The DVAC had challenged a previous special court ruling that had discharged Periyasamy and his family from the case. The High Court also mandated that the trial be conducted on a day-to-day basis and concluded within six months. The prosecution's case alleges that Periyasamy amassed the wealth between 2006 and 2010 when he was a minister, in his own name and those of his wife and two sons.
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