ED writes to Tamil Nadu govt linking minister K N Nehru to Rs 366-cr transfer-posting 'bribery' racket in MAWS

Chennai/New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate has shared fresh inputs regarding an alleged Rs 366 crore worth money laundering and corruption ring in the transfer and appointments of officials and engineers in the Tamil Nadu Department of Municipal Administration Urban and Water Supply (MAWS), officials said on Tuesday.

The federal probe agency's Chennai zonal office has sent a letter in this context to state chief secretary and the directorate of vigilance and anti-corruption (DVAC) seeking registration of a police FIR against minister K N Nehru and some others linked to him.

The ED had also written two separate letters to the state government authorities in October and December last year claiming "wide spread" corruption in the MAWS tenders and recruitments and linked Nehru to these charges.

The minister had then defended himself, saying he was being continuously targeted by the ED in a bid to defame him and said that he would legally face the charges.

Nehru had condemned the ED and alleged that it joined the ranks of the opposition parties that cannot tolerate the achievements of the DMK and hence was "continuously targeting" to "defame" him.

Officials said the alleged corruption instances in the MAWS transfer and posting came to the notice of the ED in April 2025 during searches in a bank loan "fraud" case where relatives and purported associates of Nehru were covered.

The said probe was initiated by the ED on the basis of a CBI FIR which was later quashed and the ED case fell through as the predicate offence was closed. The accused in the bank "fraud" case repaid the loan through a one-time settlement, as per officials.

The ED, hence, utilised its powers available under section 66(2) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) to share these inputs and "evidence" with the state government and police so that they book a criminal case, which in turn, can become its foundation to file a PMLA case.

The said PMLA provision empowers ED to share information and evidence regarding an offence with the police or a designated law enforcement agency.

In its latest communication, the ED informed the TN government that it has recovered photos, WhatsApp chats and documents which show "many" instances of bribes being collected for the transfer and posting of government officers and engineers in MAWS.

It claimed alleged bribe amounts ranging from Rs 7 lakh to Rs 1 crore, depending on a case-to-case basis, was being transacted in the case of about 340 MAWS officials. The agency alleged the data shared by it in the relevant communication was of a "limited" period and that this claimed bribery ring was wider.

The agency said the bribe funds of Rs 365.87 crore were utilised in real estate, investments in other properties, including foreign assets, gold bullion and for luxury expenditure, including liquor.

The ED, in 2025, had shared two such communications with the TN government authorities claiming irregularities and corruption in the MAWS.

The first was linked to an alleged recruitment scam in the said department as it claimed that certain public servants and politicians were involved while the second pointed to a Rs 1,020 crore corruption in the tenders and contracts awarded by the MAWS.