The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday announced that it has seized over 15 immovable benami properties "owned" by DMK MP Andimuthu Raja, also known as A Raja. This move is part of an ongoing money laundering investigation into the former Union telecom minister. According to an official statement issued by the ED, these 15 immovable properties, registered in the name of the 'Benami' company Kovai Shelters Promoters India Pvt Ltd and associated with the DMK leader, have been seized under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
According to news agency PTI, the central agency stated that immovable properties are valued at approximately Rs 55 crore.
The action is a development in the backdrop of a disproportionate assets case involving A Raja, who previously held the position of Union cabinet minister for environment and forest in the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government.
These assets, encompassing an estimated 45 acres of land located in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, had initially been attached by the central investigative agency back in December of the preceding year, PTI reported. Subsequently, on June 1, the Adjudicating Authority of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) endorsed this attachment order after a thorough examination.
The term "benami" refers to properties in which the actual beneficiary is not the individual in whose name the property is legally registered, the word translates to 'no name' or 'without name'. A Raja, aged 59, currently serves as a Member of Parliament representing the Nilgiris Lok Sabha constituency on behalf of the DMK.
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