The prosecution complaint filed under various sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), against Tamil Nadu minister Senthil Balaji, was submitted by the Enforcement Directorate before the special court in Chennai on August 12. The court took cognisance of it on August 16 and subsequently a copy of the chargesheet was served to the minister by a special court trying cases relating to MPs and MLAs.
The 47-year-old minister without a portfolio in Chief Minister M.K. Stalin’s cabinet was arrested by ED on June 14, after several hours of questioning at his official residence in Chennai. He was arrested by the ED in connection with the 'cash for jobs scam' alleged to have taken place when he was the transport minister in J. Jayalalithaa’s cabinet between 2011 and 2016. Balaji suffered a heart attack after he was arrested and later underwent a bypass surgery, only to be shifted to the Puzhal prison. Balaji’s remand has been extended till September 15 by the special court.
ED said Balaji exploited his official capacity as the transport minister for personal gains. A copy of the chargesheet accessed by THE WEEK, says “...as the then transport minister Senthil Balaji, misused his official capacity and obtained pecuniary advantage by corrupt, illegal means and directly acquired the proceeds of crime which generated out of a criminal activity related to a scheduled offence, some of which he has laundered by depositing in his family and associate bank accounts.”
The chargesheet further stated that there were incriminating e-mail communications between the minister and his PAs Shanmugam and M. Kartikeyan with the officials of Madras Transport Corporation (MTC) and Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporations (TNSTC) regarding the recruitment of jobs. “These communications contain Excel sheets that clearly indicate the status of candidates’ recruitment in terms of ‘list received or not’; ‘order issued or not’; ‘order despatched or not’ etc, for the purpose of tracking the allotment of orders after receiving illicit gains from the job aspirants.”
The Enforcement Directorate also mentioned in the chargesheet that the statements of a few suspects, particularly the mediators between candidates and Balaji have been recorded under Section 50 of PMLA. “They have clearly stated that money has been collected from many job aspirants and deposited with B. Shanmugam, PA of Senthil Balaji, for the illegal benefit of getting the job at Transport Department.”
The ED said Balaji channeled cash through his brother and his accomplices, which was supported by digital evidence found during the investigation, adding that the records outlined cash collections and job placements.
The ED said it identified cash deposits totalling to Rs.1.34 crore between 2013- 2014 and 2021-22. ED said the minister's wife S. Meghala received cash deposits amounting to Rs. 29.55 lakh between 2014-15 and 2019-20.
The investigation, according to ED, had revealed that “the members of the interview committee were directed to enter the interview marks in the panel sheets using pencils only. Once the interview process was completed in MTC, many candidates approached the associates of Balaji, who in turn collected money from the candidates on behalf of Balaji, for issuing appointment orders, without applying any communal reservation policies or merit system. Subsequently, the interview marks of the respective candidates were altered to give appointment orders to the ones who have paid money.”
ED has also recorded statements of a few suspects, MTC officials, under Section 50 of PMLA. The recorded statements, according to ED, clearly say that B. Shanmugam and M. Kartikeyan, who were working as personal assistants to Balaji gave directions to the transport department on behalf of Balaji. However, Balaji denied his connections with Shanmugam and Kartikeyan.
ED, during the first week of August, had frozen a property (an under-construction house in Karur) belonging to Nirmala, wife of Balaji’s brother Ashok Kumar.
Meanwhile, Balaji moved a bail petition on medical grounds in the Principal Sessions Court. But the special court hearing the cases of MPs and MLAs has asked him to approach the Madras High Court for bail.
