'DMK Minister Ponmudy And His Son Laundered Proceeds Of Illegal Sand Mining To Purchase Companies In Indonesia And UAE', Says ED

In a detailed statement released after raids and two rounds of questioning of senior Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) minister K Ponmudy and his son P Gautham Sigamani, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) stated that they had laundered the money made from illegal sand mining and sent it abroad.

"The proceeds obtained from illegal mining were deposited in benami accounts and were layered through multiple transactions and accounts.

"Eventually, two overseas entities, namely PT Excel Mengindo in Indonesia and M/s Universal Business Ventures FZE in the UAE, were acquired.

"The Indonesian company, was shown to have been purchased for a nominal amount of Rs. 41.57 lakh, was later sold for over Rs. 100 Crore in 2022. It is suspected that huge amounts of cash was transferred through hawala & infused in purchase of these overseas entities."

Regarding the cash seized, the statement said, "During the search operation, unaccounted cash amounting to Rs. 81.7 lakh was seized, along with unexplained foreign currency primarily in British pounds equivalent to approximately Rs. 13 lakhs from the residence of Ponmudy.

"In order to mislead the probe, a claim that the cash belonged to a family-owned hospital was made, and an attempt to falsify accounting records to introduce cash was detected by ED and prevented. A corroborating statement attesting the above facts was obtained from one concerned person. Thus, there is no plausible explanation for this unexplained cash seized from the residence of Ponmudy."

Further, it stated that the money laundered was channelled to make a number of investments such as purchase of properties and companies.

"ED investigation has identified a trail of illegal proceeds derived from these illicit activities, being used to acquire properties, companies, and channelling into other investments. Various incriminating documents have been found, seized and are currently under analysis.

"Furthermore, an amount of Rs. 41.9 crore, identified as direct proceeds of crime, was freezed under Section 17(1A) of PMLA as it was held in the form of a Fixed Deposit. Further investigation is in progress."

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