The Enforcement Directorate has registered a money laundering case against All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (Amma) leader TTV Dinakaran and his aides for trying to bribe the Election Commission, PTI reported on Tuesday. The criminal case was registered under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
The investigating agency said they would look into the “proceeds of crime” under the anti-money laundering law. They also said they would soon issue summons to the accused.
On Monday, a special court sentenced Dinakaran and his close aide Mallikarjuna to judicial custody until May 15 in connection with the bribery case. They were arrested on April 26 on allegations of bribing Election Commission officials to secure the AIADMK’s “two leaves” symbol. Besides the duo, Dinakaran’s wife and others believed to have links to the case were also questioned about illegal channels used to send money to Delhi from Chennai, unnamed officials told PTI.
The police began the investigation after Dinakaran was accused of giving money to middleman Sukesh Chandrasekar, who was arrested on April 16. He was the first arrested in the case and was found to have finalised a Rs 50-crore deal to help the AIADMK (Amma) camp secure the “two leaves” symbol. Officers had seized Rs 1.30 crore from him when he was arrested from a five-star hotel in Delhi on April 16. Chandrasekar is in judicial custody till May 12.
Dinakaran, jailed AIADMK General Secretary VK Sasikala’s nephew and the party’s deputy chief, is facing accusations of allegedly arranging for the money from undisclosed sources and transferring it to Delhi from Chennai using illegal means. Mallikarjuna was arrested for allegedly helping Dinakaran make the transfer, the police said.
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