The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has issued fresh summons to Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) leader C Vijayabaskar and his wife V Ramya in connection with an alleged money laundering case linked to disproportionate assets worth Rs 35.79 crore.Vijayabaskar has been asked to appear before the agency's Chennai zonal office on November 6, officials told news agency ANI. His wife has reportedly been summoned for questioning next week.This is the second round of summons issued to the couple in the case, which relates to allegations that Vijayabaskar accumulated assets disproportionate to his known sources of income while serving as Tamil Nadu's Health and Family Welfare Minister in the previous AIADMK government between 2016 and 2021.Vijayabaskar joined the Joseph Vijay-led TVK in July this year, following the party's rise to power, along with former AIADMK minister MR Vijayabhaskar and several other leaders.
The case originated from a disproportionate assets case registered by the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) in 2021. In its charge sheet filed in May 2023, the state anti-corruption agency alleged that Vijayabaskar had amassed assets worth Rs 35.79 crore beyond his known sources of income, according to local media.Following the DVAC case, the ED initiated a parallel money laundering investigation under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
As part of the probe, ED officials conducted searches at Vijayabaskar's home in Tamil Nadu's Pudukkottai district in March 2024. The agency had also summoned Vijayabaskar and his wife in 2024, following which their statements were recorded.The latest summons indicate that the agency is continuing its investigation into the alleged accumulation of assets and the financial transactions linked to them.Vijayabaskar served as Health Minister from 2016 to 2021 under the AIADMK government.
He is currently the TVK's Pudukkottai district organisational secretary.- Ends