Chennai, 16 Aug

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Saturday searched multiple premises linked to Tamil Nadu Minister and DMK leader I Periyasamy and his MLA son as part of a money laundering investigation, official sources said. The raids were undertaken in Chennai and Dindigul under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

The premises of IP Sentilkumar, son of the 72-year-old Minister for Rural Development, Panchayats and Panchayat Union, was also searched, according to the sources. Periyasamy represents the Athoor Assembly Constituency in Dindigul district.

The money laundering investigation stems from an April order of the Madras High Court, which directed a special court in Dindigul to frame charges against Periyasamy and his family members in connection with a Rs 2.1 crore "disproportionate assets case.

The order came in response to some criminal revision petitions filed by the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC), challenging a special court order discharging Periyasamy and his family members from the case. The HC also directed the special court to conduct the trial on a day-to-day basis and complete it within six months.

The prosecution's case was that Periyasamy had amassed wealth to the tune of Rs 2.1 crore in his name and in the names of his wife, P Suseela and sons P Sentilkumar and P Prabhu, disproportionate to his known sources of income when he was a minister between 2006 and 2010.