The Enforcement Directorate on Tuesday conducted simultaneous searches in over 40 locations across Tamil Nadu, suspecting money laundering and tax evasion in an alleged sand mining scam. The searches were conducted in the office premises, residences of sand mining barons and sales depots at sand mining sites.
At least 15 teams of ED officers conducted searches to investigate money laundering and tax evasion in the sale of sand mined from river beds. According to highly placed sources, the tax collected through the e-bills issued to sand lorry owners and operators was not credited to government accounts.
“There is large-scale tax evasion,” an official source told THE WEEK.
In Tamil Nadu, the sand mined from the riverbeds are sold at the designated sand depots which are run by the state water resources department. While the tax for the sand sold online is credited to the government accounts, the record for the sand sold offline is allegedly not maintained properly and there is huge tax evasion.
Searches are under way in over 40 locations in Tiruchi, Karuru, Vellore and Pudukottai districts, allegedly linked to sand mining barons S. Ramachandran, Dindigul Rathinam and G. Karikalan. Sources also confirmed that the officers had gathered information with regard to the lorries coming in and going out from the sand sales depots in more than 15 districts in the state.
The ED officers are also said to have scrutinised the CCTV footage in the sales depots, toll plazas and other places linked to sand mining. They also searched the office and residence of sand mining contractor S. Ramachandran at Vallathirakottai in Pudukottai district.
Incidentally, this is the third high profile search by the ED in Tamil Nadu this year. While minister V. Senthil Balaji and former higher education minister K. Ponmudi were brought under the ED scanner recently, sources said, the searches over the alleged sand mining scam could implicate state water resources minister and DMK general secretary DuraiMurugan.
DuraiMurugan is the most senior leader in the party and was the PWD minister in M. Karunanidhi’s cabinet. It is also said that the ED raids were conducted in suspicion of huge cash movements towards election funding.
