Published May 23, 2026 | 10:37 AM ⚊ Updated May 23, 2026 | 10:37 AM
Enforcement Directorate.
Synopsis: The present case against Anitha Radhakrishnan stems from a disproportionate assets case registered by the Tamil Nadu Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) in 2006, alleging that he had amassed assets worth ₹2.07 crore beyond known sources of income. Based on this, the ED initiated a money laundering probe in 2020.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has written to the Tamil Nadu government seeking permission to investigate former Fisheries Minister and senior DMK leader Anitha Radhakrishnan under provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
The letter, reportedly sent on 20 May, comes just five days after the ED sought similar sanction to proceed against another former DMK minister, V. Senthil Balaji. The back-to-back communications are seen as mounting pressure on the newly formed Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK)-led government in the state.
Officials have confirmed that the state government has received both letters from the ED. However, no response has been communicated so far.
According to sources, the ED’s four-page communication invokes Section 218 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS). The provision states that if the state government does not respond within 120 days of receiving the request for sanction, it will be deemed to have been granted.
Previously, under Section 197 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (now replaced by Section 218 of BNSS), the ED had written multiple times to the Tamil Nadu Governor and the then DMK government seeking sanction to prosecute ministers. The agency had also cited the Supreme Court’s ruling in the Prasad Acharya case. However, no approval was granted during the previous regime.
The present case against Anitha Radhakrishnan stems from a disproportionate assets case registered by the Tamil Nadu Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) in 2006, alleging that he had amassed assets worth ₹2.07 crore beyond known sources of income.
Based on this, the ED initiated a money laundering probe in 2020. Subsequently, it provisionally attached immovable properties worth ₹1.26 crore located in Thoothukudi, Madurai, and Chennai. On March 28 last year, the ED filed a prosecution complaint before a court under the PMLA. The case is yet to be taken up for trial.
Earlier, in 2022, the ED had also attached 18 properties valued at around ₹1 crore in connection with the case.
