NAMAKKAL/SALEM: The Directorate of Vigilance and Anti Corruption (DVAC) on Wednesday registered a disproportionate assets case against AIADMK former Electricity Minister P Thangamani, and carried out searches at 69 places across Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.
During the course of the search, Rs 2.37 crore of cash, 1.130 kg of gold ornaments, about 40 kg of silver, and other incriminating documents were found. Among them, unaccounted cash worth Rs 2.16 crore, locker keys of several banks, and documents pertaining to the case were seized, a press release from the DVAC said.
The DVAC's FIR said Thangamani had acquired assets worth Rs 4.85 crore in excess of his total income between May 2016 and March 2020. It also said the former minister and his son have invested a huge amount of their ill-gotten money in crypto assets.
The FIR added that election affidavits filed by Thangamani in the 2016 and 2021 Assembly polls were also taken into consideration to arrive at the quantum of assets acquired. Along with Thangamani, his son T Dharanidharan and wife T Santhi have also been booked.
'DVAC didn’t confiscate any document'
Discreet inquiry disclosed that Dharanidharan has a huge business named Murugan Earth Movers, which exists only on paper, to cover the illegal income and assets acquired by Thangamani, the DVAC said. Even though Santhi does not hold any business, she was charged for intentionally hiding the money from the eyes of the law by filing income tax.
The FIR said Thangamani and his son have acquired many more disproportionate assets, which are kept in the name of their in-laws, relatives and associates at various places in Tamil Nadu and outside the State. Speaking to reporters after the raid at his house in Salem, Dharanidharan said DVAC officials have inquired them and have not seized or confiscated any documents.