The Enforcement Directorate has launched raids at multiple premises associated with former Health Minister and AIADMK leader C. Vijayabaskar. The searches come in connection with a high-profile money laundering case.


Vijayabaskar, a formidable figure in Tamil Nadu politics, hails from Pudukottai and has served as a Health Minister under the AIADMK regime. Vijaybaskar served as the Health Minister from 2011 to 2021, spanning the consecutive terms of the AIADMK government in 2011 and 2016.














The officials arrived in three vehicles, and no one was permitted to exit the residence during the search.



















 


Earlier, he was booked by the CBI in a "gutkha scam". In October 2021, the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) registered a case against C Vijayabaskar, Viralimalai MLA, along with his wife, on charges of amassing disproportionate assets totaling Rs 27,22,56,736 during his tenure as an MLA from 2016 to 2021. Concurrently, the DVAC has initiated raids at 43 locations associated with the former Minister. 





In 2021 Assembly Elections, DMK's V Senthil Balaji defeated Vijayabaskar by a margin of 12,448 seats in Karur.

 

I-T Raids Real Estate Company

 

In separate operations, IT officials carried out searches at properties related to the real estate company G Square group which is allegedly linked to the DMK leadership.

 

The premises liked to real estate group Gsquare and linked entities in and around Chennai city are also being searched as part of an investigation under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the sources said, as per PTI.

 

About 25 premises are being covered by the central agencies as part of two cases, according to sources.


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