The Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted searches on Tuesday against Tamil Nadu Electricity Minister V Senthil Balaji and others as part of a money laundering inquiry, according to official sources. The minister, a DMK strongman from Karur district, said he had no idea what the officials were looking for at his residence and promised full cooperation in the investigation. The raids are taking place at Balaji’s offices in the state capital of Chennai and his hometown of Karur. Last month, the Supreme Court authorised a police and ED investigation into an alleged cash-for-jobs scheme against Balaji, who also holds the Prohibition and Excise post.
According to the sources, the searches are being conducted in accordance with the terms of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The Income-tax Department also searched people in the state close to Balaji last month.Balaji responded to the ED searches by saying he was “ready to extend full cooperation” to the investigative agency. Whether it is the IT or the ED, Balaji has promised full cooperation to the authorities in question, adding that any explanation required by officials based on documents will be delivered. After going for a morning stroll, the minister said he took a taxi back home after receiving a word about the raids at his office.
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