The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday carried out extensive raids across Tamil Nadu at properties linked to senior DMK leader and Municipal Administration Minister K.N. Nehru, and his son, Lok Sabha MP Arun Nehru. The searches are part of a money laundering probe connected to a multi-crore bank fraud.
Raids across Tamil Nadu at properties of KN Nehru’s kin
Over 14 locations, including the minister’s residence and properties in Coimbatore, were searched. The investigation centres around TRUEDOM EPC India Pvt Ltd, where Nehru’s brother, K.N. Ravichandran, is a director. Ravichandran also heads the TVH Group, a prominent real estate firm. Arun Nehru was a director in a related company before contesting the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The raids also covered premises linked to Nehru’s other brother, Manivannan. Investigators are reportedly examining financial transactions between TRUEDOM EPC and True Value Homes (TVH), both family-run enterprises.
As per reports, the ED is probing the case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The Enforcement Directorate’s action follows a 2021 FIR by the Central Bureau of Investigation against TRUEDOM EPC for allegedly defrauding the Indian Overseas Bank of Rs 22 crore. Digital evidence and documents related to suspicious land deals and irregular transactions were seized during the raids.
ED heat on TN ministers amid DMK–BJP row
KN Nehru, a key figure in the ruling DMK and fourth in the Cabinet hierarchy, is the latest minister under central scrutiny, following earlier ED actions against Senthil Balaji, K. Ponmudy, and Anitha R. Radhakrishnan. MP S. Jagathrakshakan has also faced similar investigations.
KN Nehru is said to be a close aide of Chief Minister MK Stalin. Said to be one of the most powerful regional satraps in the DMK, Nehru serves as the Principal Secretary of the ruling party of Tamil Nadu. He ranks high in the DMK pecking order and is fourth in the hierarchy of the Tamil Nadu Council of Ministers, next only to CM MK Stalin, Deputy CM Udhayanidhi Stalin and DMK veteran Water Resources Minister Duraimurugan.
The raids come amid rising tensions between the DMK and the BJP-led Union government, particularly over the National Education Policy and the contentious three-language formula.
