Enlarging the ambit of its money laundering probe against arrested Tamil Nadu Minister V Senthil Balaji, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday said his brother and two other family members have skipped multiple summonses and alleged that evidence indicates they played "pivotal roles" in layering and integrating the proceeds of crime in this case.
“A false news report that R V Ashok Kumar, brother of Senthil Balaji (Ex-Minister and MLA) has been detained in Kochi Kerala by the Directorate of Enforcement is being reported by multiple news sources. It is clarified that Shri R V Ashok Kumar has neither been detained nor been arrested by ED,” the agency said in a statement.
It further said, “It may however be stated that RV Ashok Kumar has been summoned on four occasions on 16.06.2023, 21.06.2023, 29.06.2023 and 15.07.2023 as part of the ongoing probe. He has, however, never joined the investigation and has refused to appear before ED in response to the summons citing frivolous inconsequential excuses,” it said..
In a similar manner, his wife, Nirmala and his mother-in-law,. P Lakshmi, have also not complied with four individual summons.
“It is significant to note that evidence indicates that all three individuals have played pivotal roles in layering and integrating the proceeds of crimes,” it said.
The ED arrested Balaji in June in connection with a money laundering case linked to a cash-for-jobs scam.
