Latest news with #S.Visakan
The Hindu
18-05-2025
- Business
- The Hindu
Brewing trouble for the DMK
A few months ago, a real estate broker took the owner of a small parcel of land on the outskirts of Chennai to meet a resourceful senior Minister in Tamil Nadu, hoping to strike a deal. The asking price was around ₹50 crore — well within the Minister's presumed financial capacity. But the deal never took off. 'People from above are watching closely. If I enter into any deal, they will pounce on me in no time,' the Minister reportedly said. The 'people from above' was a clear reference to Central enforcement agencies such as the Income Tax Department and the Enforcement Directorate (ED). This atmosphere of heightened caution — fuelled by fears of ED scrutiny — is only likely to intensify among ruling DMK politicians, especially in the wake of the agency's recent searches and questioning related to what it has described as a ₹1,000 crore liquor scam. The spotlight has fallen on the Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation (TASMAC), the state-run liquor monopoly and a major revenue generator, rattling the M.K. Stalin-led government. The government's response has only underlined its unease. It first rushed to the Madras High Court in March to stall the initial round of ED searches, and later moved the Supreme Court seeking to transfer the writ petitions to another High Court. Both attempts proved unsuccessful. Last month, the Madras High Court dismissed a batch of three petitions filed by the government and TASMAC, refusing to declare the ED's search and seizure operation at TASMAC's Chennai headquarters between March 6 and 8 as illegal. The ED has registered a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, based on 41 First Information Reports (FIRs) filed by the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. These FIRs, dating from 2017 to 2024, allege various irregularities within TASMAC: unaccounted cash recovered from retail outlets and district offices, overpricing of liquor, bribes for transfers and appointments, and corrupt dealings between TASMAC officials and distilleries. Last week, the ED resumed its investigation, expanding its focus to include two wealthy private individuals reportedly close to the top echelons of power. These individuals are suspected of acting as conduits for laundering unaccounted money linked to TASMAC. In a cinematic twist, one of them reportedly managed to flee just minutes before ED officials arrived at his upscale apartment, boarding a flight to West Asia. Besides, TASMAC Managing Director S. Visakan was taken in for questioning and grilled for over two days. His statements were officially recorded. The direction of the case may well hinge on his disclosures. Meanwhile, the Opposition AIADMK has seized on printouts of purported mobile chat messages allegedly discarded near Mr. Visakan's residence on the day of the ED's visit. One such message, addressed to an unnamed 'brother,' discusses details of the TASMAC tender process, points to the involvement of DMK functionaries, refers to internal party dynamics, and acknowledges the existence of illegal bars that 'bring a bad name to TASMAC and the government.' Given how liquor-related cases pursued by the ED have evolved in Delhi and Telangana, it is too early to predict the trajectory of the investigation in Tamil Nadu. Excise and Prohibition Minister S. Muthusamy, who took over after V. Senthilbalaji exited the Cabinet last month, has accused the ED of acting out of political vendetta. He claimed that TASMAC officials are being harassed despite no substantial findings, and questioned the basis of the ₹1,000 crore figure cited by the agency. However, considering TASMAC has long faced allegations of favouritism towards politically linked distilleries and overcharging at retail outlets, including during the previous AIADMK regime, the DMK finds itself on the defensive. In this context, the High Court's remarks while rejecting the petitions are worth recalling: 'The submission that has been stressed throughout is that [a] political motive is at play. That this search is based on political vendetta... The right place to place this submission is before the people... They witness the actions of the persons in power and so the best judges to decide the case of politics would be the people... Eventually, what matters the most is the will of the people.'
The Hindu
17-05-2025
- The Hindu
ED interrogates TASMAC Managing Director S. Visakan, conducts searches at 12 locations for the second day
The officers of Enforcement Directorate (ED) continued searches at 12 locations including the residences of Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation (TASMAC) Managing Director who is an IAS officer, a film producer and other individuals. Mr. Visakan was interrogated by the officers for a second consecutive day on Saturday. The ED's actions follow a directive from the Madras High Court on April 23, 2025, which criticised attempts to impede the agency's investigation into the alleged ₹1,000 crore scam in procurement of liquor to the State-run TASMAC. The court's order has prompted the probe, leading to searches at multiple locations, including the residence of TASMAC Managing Director Mr. Visakan and other individuals connected to the case. On Saturday, they conducted searches at the residences of Mr. Visakan in Manapakkam, KS Mart Kesavan, film producer Akash Baskaran in Alwarpet, businessman Devakumar in Anna Nagar, TANGEDCO contractor Rajesh Kumar, SNJ Distilleries manager Meganathan and businessman Babu. Sources said the ED officers have sealed the residence of businessman Ratheesh Velu in MRC Nagar. Akash is said to be producing films simultaneously starring Dhanush, Simbu, Sivakarthikeyan, and Atharvaa, with a combined investment of over ₹500 crore. During the search on Friday, the ED officers recovered documents and digital evidence, including printouts of WhatsApp conversations related to liquor procurement and tender processes. They interrogated by showing Whatsapp chats and other evidence, said sources.
Hans India
17-05-2025
- Business
- Hans India
Liquor 'scam': ED questions TASMAC MD for second consecutive day
Chennai: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Saturday questioned Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation (TASMAC) Managing Director S. Visakan at its Nungambakkam office, a day after conducting extensive searches at his residence and other premises in connection with the alleged liquor scam. Visakan, a senior IAS officer, was summoned to the ED office on Saturday following a long round of interrogation at his residence in Manapakkam on Friday. His wife was also questioned on Friday evening. Meanwhile, ED officials resumed their search at Visakan's Manapakkam residence on Saturday, marking the second consecutive day of raids. The ongoing searches are being conducted under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The ED's probe has widened to cover approximately 10 locations in and around Chennai. These include properties linked to senior TASMAC officials and liquor contractors, as well as entities that had received government contracts. Among those under the scanner is Akash Baskaran, a film producer associated with Dawn Pictures, and a tech firm reportedly awarded contracts by the Tamil Nadu government. Officials said the coordinated action is based on intelligence inputs and financial transaction trails suggesting irregularities involving the alleged diversion of government funds through shell firms and benami entities. The involvement of TASMAC - a government-run enterprise that holds a monopoly over liquor sales in the state - has raised concerns over potential misuse of public resources. S. Visakan's role as TASMAC MD during the period under scrutiny is seen as significant by the agency. Sources said financial records, digital evidence, and statements of key individuals are being closely examined to determine the extent of wrongdoing. The ED has not yet issued an official statement detailing the nature or scope of the allegations. However, officials confirmed that further rounds of questioning and forensic scrutiny of seized documents are expected in the coming days as the probe progresses.
The Hindu
25-04-2025
- Business
- The Hindu
ED summons TASMAC MD, top officials in investigation into ₹1,000-crore liquor scam
The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) on Thursday (April 24, 2025) summoned top officials in the Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation (Tasmac) including its Managing Director and IAS officer S. Visakan in the alleged ₹1,000 crore liquor scam. A day after the Madras High Court dismissed writ petitions filed by the Tamil Nadu government challenging searches conducted by the central agency in early March, the ED issued fresh summons to the officers to appear before the investigation officer, official sources said. The officials, whose statements were recorded by the ED at the time of the searches, had sought more time to appear while responding to the summons issued earlier in the case. In the meantime, the plea of the State and Tasmac to declare as illegal the search and seizure operation was dismissed by the court, the sources said. The ED had conducted searches at multiple locations across the State on March 6, 2025, under the provisions of Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, for various offences related to Tasmac and its associated entities/persons. The operation was based on several FIRs registered by the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) under various sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. The alleged offences included Tasmac shops collecting money over and above the market retail price, distillery companies offering kickbacks to officials for supply orders, senior officials indulging in collection of bribes from the retail liquor shops and for transfer/posting of staff etc. During the searches on Tasmac establishments, investigating officials seized incriminating data related to the offences, including indent orders favouring a few distillery companies, manipulation of tender conditions in the allocation of bar licences, and excess charge of ₹10-30 per bottle by the liquor outlets, involving the officials. Large-scale fraud The ED said the searches revealed large-scale financial fraud involving distillery companies - SNJ, Kals, Accord, SAIFL, and Shiva Distillery - along with bottling entities such as Devi Bottles, Crystal Bottles, and GLR Holding, 'thereby exposing a well-orchestrated scheme of unaccounted cash generation and illicit payments.' The agency said investigations reveal that distilleries systematically inflated expenses and fabricated bogus purchases, particularly through bottle-making companies, to siphon off over ₹1,000 crore in unaccounted cash. These funds were then used for kickbacks to secure increased supply orders from Tasmac. Other officials summoned for questioning by the ED included General Managers S. Sangeetha, T. Rama Duraimurugan and Deputy General Manager Jothi Shankar, the sources added.
