Illegal beach sand mining: CBI team searches properties linked to VV Minerals
The Hindu
CBI searches properties linked to VV Minerals in connection with alleged illegal mining of beach minerals worth ₹5,000 crore.
A 20-member team of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) reportedly searched properties linked to VV Minerals, which exports processed beach sand, and its promoter S. Vaikundarajan at Keeraikkaaranthattu near Thisaiyanvilai on Saturday.
The searches were conducted in connection with the alleged illegal mining of beach minerals worth over ₹5,000 crore.
The team searched Mr. Vaikundarajan’s house around 10 a.m. The office of VV Minerals was also searched. Simultaneously, three more properties linked to VV Minerals around Thisaiyanvilai were searched as well, officials said.
Meanwhile, officials of the Anti-Corruption Wing of the CBI conducted searches at multiple locations linked to family members of Mr. Vaikundarajan, the firm’s head office in Chennai, and others in connection with the scam.
Directing the CBI to investigate the alleged illegal mining of minerals worth ₹5,832.44 crore from beaches in Tirunelveli, Thoothukudi, and Kanniyakumari districts, the Madras High Court, in February, ordered a probe into the involvement of officials and the political nexus in this scam.
The court had directed the CBI director to form Special Investigation Teams, comprising officials with high integrity and expertise in unearthing facts. The modus operandi of beach sand-miners, the role of officials in this scam, and the loss to the State exchequer, among others, should be probed, the court had ordered.
It had also said that the Indian government was directed to scrutinise all financial and commercial transactions of the respondent mining companies dealing with beach sand mining, and refer the matter for investigation to the Directorate of Enforcement, the Income Tax Department, the Customs and Excise Department and the Commercial Taxes Department, and by any other competent agencies as required.
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