Kamal Ghorui
NEW DEK: Enforcement Directorate (ED) has written a letter to the Tamil Nadu govt asking it to register an FIR against municipal administration and water supply (MAWS) minister KN Nehru and take action against corruption in transfer posting of officials in the MAWS dept, while alleging money laundering of Rs 366 crore by the minister and his associates.In the letter, sources said, ED has provided evidence of alleged corruption to the chief secretary and the anti-corruption unit. This is the third time in the last three months that ED has written to the state govt pointing out alleged corruption in municipal administration and made corruption charges against Nehru.The probe agency mentioned that in its earlier letter written to govt on Oct 27 last year, it had brought to its notice the alleged malpractices in the exams and selection process for officers and staff (2024-25, 2025-26) of MAWS dept of Tamil Nadu.Its note had provided purported “evidence of bribes of Rs 25 lakh to Rs 35 lakh being collected from each candidate” and shared details of 150 such candidates, which were seized from a close associate of KN Nehru. Based on this, the agency had sought a probe regarding the appointment of 2,500 candidates. ED had written to the state govt again on Dec 3, alleging “manipulation and corruption” in govt contracts in MAWS dept. It provided additional evidence of purported tender rigging and bribery amounting to 7-15% of contract values.“The present note (letter) deals with evidence relating to corruption in transfer of govt officers/engineers of MAWS by KN Nehru and his associates,” ED is believed to have pointed out.This report, the letter said, also provides direct evidence of money laundering of Rs 365.87 crore by the minister and his family and close associates through various means. The minister had earlier denied all the allegations and termed ED’s actions as being politically motivated.Sources said the agency pointed out in its letter that the bribes were utilised for luxurious lifestyle, creation of personal assets, political expenditure, etc. by its beneficiaries. The proceeds of crime were laundered through the hawala network, both within and outside the country, to keep the identity of ultimate beneficiaries a secret and leave no money trail.The agency claimed that it had seized the evidence during searches at several premises of relatives and associates of KN Nehru across Chennai, Trichy and Coimbatore in April 2025 in connection with its investigation into a bank fraud case based on an FIR registered by CBI-ACB, Chennai. The predicate offence, i.e. the case registered by the CBI-ACB, eventually collapsed after the accused settled their loan which was outstanding with the bank.
