Sand mining in T.N. | Enforcement Directorate probes money trail involving contractors, individuals

Enforcement Directorate investigates multi-crore sand mining scam in Tamil Nadu, probing money laundering and illegal transactions.

Special teams of the Enforcement Directorate launched searches at multiple locations across Tamil Nadu in connection with the alleged multi-crore sand mining scam in the State. 

Sources in the Central agency said that investigators were verifying huge money transfers involving certain individuals, contractors and prime suspects in the scam. 

The ED, in its investigation that began in September last year, is looking into money-laundering offences in the illegal sale of river sand to the tune of ₹4,730 crore, and us now scrutinising the source and flow of funds in what appears to be suspicious transactions, the sources said. 

Soon after registering a case under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, ED teams conducted simultaneous searches at sand mining sites or sand stockyards in over six districts across the State on September 12, 2023, and claimed to have seized incriminating documents such as fake bills and counterfeit QR codes that pointed to GST losses to the Central and State governments.

Searches were also conducted at the premises of contractors or their associates, including S. Ramachandran, K. Rathinam, P. Karikalan and officials of the Water Resources Department of the State government. 

After examining officials of the WRD, the Central agency had sent summons to four District Collectors to appear before the Investigation Officer. The Tamil Nadu government moved the Madras High Court challenging the summons, and got a stay order. 

However, the Enforcement Directorate appealed against the stay in the Supreme Court which directed the four District Collectors to appear and respond to the summons in the “illegal” sand mining case saying that they were bound to provide information to the Enforcement Directorate.