Chennai/New Delhi, Jan 20 (PTI) The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has shared fresh inputs regarding an alleged Rs 366 crore worth money laundering and corruption ring in the transfer and appointments of officials and engineers in Tamil Nadu's Department of Municipal Administration Urban and Water Supply, officials said on Tuesday.

The federal probe agency's Chennai zonal office has sent a letter in this context to state chief secretary and the directorate of vigilance and anti-corruption (DVAC) seeking registration of a police FIR against minister K N Nehru and some others linked to him.

The ED had also written two separate letters to the state government authorities in October and December last year claiming "wide spread" corruption in the department's tenders and recruitments and linked Nehru to these charges.

The minister had then defended himself, saying he was being continuously targeted by the ED in a bid to defame him and said that he would legally face the charges.

Nehru had condemned the ED and alleged that it joined the ranks of the opposition parties that cannot tolerate the achievements of the DMK and hence was "continuously targeting" to "defame" him.

Officials said the alleged corruption instances in the municipal administration urban and water supply department's transfer and posting came to the notice of the ED in April 2025 during searches in a bank loan "fraud" case where relatives and purported associates of Nehru were covered.

The said probe was initiated by the ED on the basis of a CBI FIR which was later quashed and the ED case fell through as the predicate offence was closed. The accused in the bank "fraud" case repaid the loan through a one-time settlement, as per officials.

The ED, hence, utilised its powers available under section 66(2) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) to share these inputs and "evidence" with the state government and police so that they book a criminal case, which in turn, can become its foundation to file a PMLA case.

The said PMLA provision empowers ED to share information and evidence regarding an offence with the police or a designated law enforcement agency.

In its latest communication, the ED informed the Tamil Nadu government that it has recovered photos, WhatsApp chats and documents which show "many" instances of bribes being collected for the transfer and posting of government officers and engineers in the municipal administration urban and water supply department.

It claimed alleged bribe amounts ranging from Rs 7 lakh to Rs 1 crore, depending on a case-to-case basis, was being transacted in the case of about 340 the municipal administration urban and water supply department officials. The agency alleged the data shared by it in the relevant communication was of a "limited" period and that this claimed bribery ring was wider.

The agency said the bribe funds of Rs 365.87 crore were utilised in real estate, investments in other properties, including foreign assets, gold bullion and for luxury expenditure, including liquor.

The agency stated in the letter that filing of a police FIR on these charges made by the ED was essential as laid down by the Supreme Court in the Vijay Madanlal Choudhary case of 2022.

"The Supreme Court has also held that where FIR is not registered, appropriate remedy as may be permissible in law, to ensure that the culprits do not go unpunished and proceeds of crime are secured and dealt with as per the dispensation provided in PMLA, may be taken by ED," the agency said.

The ED, in 2025, had shared two such communications with the TN government authorities claiming irregularities and corruption in the municipal administration urban and water supply department.

The first was linked to an alleged recruitment scam in the said department as it claimed that certain public servants and politicians were involved while the second pointed to a Rs 1,020 crore corruption in the tenders and contracts awarded by the municipal administration urban and water supply department. PTI NES -- ZMN

Tamil Nadu minister linked to alleged bribery ring in transfers and postings; ED seeks police FIR to enable PMLA action. The ED reported recovered photos, chats and documents allegedly showing bribes of Rs 7 lakh to Rs 1 crore across about 340 transfer and posting instances and traced Rs 365.87 crore of proceeds to real estate, foreign assets, bullion and luxury spending. Relying on its PMLA information sharing power, the ED requested the state and vigilance agency to register a police FIR to create a criminal predicate for PMLA action, while noting prior communications alleging recruitment and tender irregularities in the department.