ED attaches properties worth ₹100 crore of former AIADMK Minister R. Vaithilingam under PMLA

The Chennai Zonal Office of the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) has attached two immovable properties worth more than ₹100 crore belonging to R. Vaithilingam, MLA of Orathanadu and former Tamil Nadu Minister for Housing and Urban Development.

The Chennai Zonal Office of the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) has attached two immovable properties worth more than ₹100 crore belonging to R. Vaithilingam, MLA of Orathanadu and former Tamil Nadu Minister for Housing and Urban Development. The properties were attached by the ED under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002 on January 9, 2025.

The attached properties were registered in the name of Muthammal Estates Private limited, an entity owned by Mr. Vaithilingam’s family.

The ED investigation pertains to an FIR registered by the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) under section 120B of Indian Penal Code, 1860, and Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, against Mr. Vaithilingam, who was then the Minister for Housing and Urban Development. It is alleged that during his tenure as Minister he accepted a bribe of ₹27.90 crore from M/s Shriram Properties and Infrastructure in exchange for granting planning permission for a real estate project, according to a press release. 

Based on the case, the ED conducted searches and uncovered a carefully-planned modus operandi involving the use of shell entities to disguise the bribe payments as share application money. These payments, purportedly made by Shriram group entities for the purchase of land, were never intended for actual land acquisition. Instead, the funds were routed through multiple shell entities and ultimately parked in M/s Muthammal Estates. The illicit funds were then utilized to acquire various immovable properties in Tiruchi which have also been provisionally attached, the release from the ED said.

Further investigation is under progress.