Kallal Group Money Laundering Investigation: ED Attaches Rs 34.7 Lakh In Bank Account Of Udhayanidhi Stalin Foundation

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) today said that it has provisionally attached various immovable properties across Tamil Nadu valued at Rs. 36.3 Crore and Rs 34.7 lakh in the account of Udhayanidhi Stalin Foundation in connection with a money laundering investigation related Kallal Group and others.

In 2021, Udhayanidhi Stalin had floated his own foundation ostensibly to help the cause of poor and marginalised section of the society.

According to Savukku Shankar, a noted blogger and Youtube personality, the ED action was a result of searches it conducted in multiple places in Tamil Nadu earlier this month.

He wrote that the ED action is based on an FIR registered by the Crime Branch of Chennai Police on a complaint by Lyca Group (the makers of Ponniyin Selvan) that it had been cheated by the Kallal Group of an amount upto Rs 500 crore.

Further, he wrote that the Udhayanidhi Stalin foundation had received Rs 1 crore as a donation from the Kallal Group, which the ED believes to be proceeds of crime. Thus, the amount in the bank account of the foundation has been attached.

According to journalist Arvind Gunasekar, while the FIR registered by the Lyca Group had alleged cheating of Rs 114.37 crore, the ED had found the amount to be Rs 300 crore.

Reacting to the news, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) state president K Annamalai said, "While DMK leaders continue to send me legal notices for releasing DMK files, the authorities are finding the ill-gotten wealth of the DMK First family."

Further details on the matter are awaited.