Unearthed deep-rooted, systemic corruption involving prominent consultants across key govt. departments: ED

ED Chennai Zonal Office uncovers corruption network involving government officials and consultants, seizing unaccounted cash and incriminating documents.

The Directorate of Enforcement (ED), Chennai Zonal Office, recently searched 16 premises associated with a Tamil Nadu government official and various prominent consultants of the State government departments across Chennai and Vellore under provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.

The agency said it had initiated an investigation on the basis of a first information report registered by the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption against S. Pandian, Superintendent of Environment Department, Tamil Nadu, and others over an alleged disproportionate assetscase.

The searches, it said, unearthed a deep-rooted and systemic corruption network involving several prominent consultants across key government departments. Evidence revealed that the consultants or brokers acted as middlemen, and floated shell companies and consultancy firms through which kickbacks were routed under the guise of service fee and consultancy payments. Such a web of corruption was found to operate through fixed commissions paid to officials for obtaining illegal and expedited clearances.

The investigation has confirmed the role of key consultants — Prabhakar Sigamony, A.K. Nathan, Naveen Kumar, Santhosh Kumar, and Vinoth Kumar — in facilitating illegal approvals. Unaccounted cash worth ₹4.73 crore, intended to pay bribes, was seized during the searches. Moreover, incriminating documents, digital records, and property documents were recovered, indicating a large-scale layering and siphoning off illicit funds. The ED has also identified assets and properties acquired using proceeds of crime (POC), and is in the process of quantifying and attaching these under provisions of the PMLA, the ED said in a release.

Meanwhile, an important employee of a consultant has severely damaged her phone for hiding the evidence, it added. “Action will be taken against this person for destruction of evidence and non-cooperation with the agency,” it said.