ED probe on Nehru's kin linked to alleged diversion of ₹30 cr loan to TVH

The coordinated Enforcement Directorate searches on Monday (April 7) at offices of multiple entities linked to True Value Homes (TVH), owned by Municipal Administration Minister KN Nehru's brother KN Ravichandran, is the outcome of a 2021 FIR filed by CBI on a complaint by Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) alleging fraudulent diversion of ₹30 crore loan it disbursed in 2013.

- SIDDHARTH PRABHAKAR @Chennai

Sources said that ED's Chennai zone registered an ECIR recently based on the FIR and commenced a money laundering probe. The searches began in Chennai, Coimbatore and Tiruchy on Monday, including at the house of Nehru, and continued on Tuesday, official sources confirmed. CBI alleged that the accused had cheated IOB of ₹22.48 crore as on June 30, 2021. The agency has already filed a chargesheet in the case.

DMK has condemned the searches, calling it politically motivated to malign the government and create an impression that the minister was involved in corruption. Without revealing specific details about the case, DMK MP NR Elango on Monday questioned the timing of the ED probe - nearly 3.5 years after the CBI filed the case and around 12 years after the occurrence of the alleged crime.