Chennai: ED Summons Ex-Health Minister Vijayabaskar Again in Alleged Rs 35.79 Crore Assets Case, Asks Him to Appear on November 6

The Enforcement Directorate has issued a fresh, second round of summons to TVK leader and former Tamil Nadu health minister C Vijayabaskar and his wife V Ramya in its money-laundering probe linked to alleged disproportionate assets worth Rs 35.79 crore (yaani about Rs 358 million). Vijayabaskar has been asked to appear at the agency's Chennai zonal office on November 6; his wife has been summoned next week. The allegations have not been proved in court.

Awaaz Punjab Investigations Desk3 November 20264 min readRead in all 3 languages

Chennai: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has issued fresh summons to Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) leader C Vijayabaskar and his wife V Ramya in connection with an alleged money-laundering case linked to disproportionate assets worth Rs 35.79 crore, India Today reported, citing officials who spoke to news agency ANI. Nation Press also reported the fresh summons on Tuesday.

Source: India Today via News89

Vijayabaskar has been asked to appear before the agency's Chennai zonal office on November 6, while his wife has been summoned for questioning next week, officials said. This is the second round of summons issued to the couple in the case; the agency had earlier summoned them in 2024 and recorded their statements.

Rs 35.79 croreAlleged disproportionate assets in the DVAC charge sheet

November 6Vijayabaskar asked to appear at ED's Chennai zonal office

2016-2021His tenure as Tamil Nadu health minister in the AIADMK government

The case relates to allegations that Vijayabaskar accumulated assets disproportionate to his known sources of income while serving as Tamil Nadu's Minister for Health and Family Welfare in the previous AIADMK government between 2016 and 2021. It originated in a disproportionate-assets case registered by the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) in 2021; in its charge sheet filed in May 2023, the state anti-corruption agency alleged that he had amassed assets worth Rs 35.79 crore beyond his known sources of income, according to local media reports cited in the coverage.

Following the DVAC case, the ED opened a parallel money-laundering investigation under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). As part of that probe, ED officials searched Vijayabaskar's home in Pudukkottai district in March 2024. The latest summons indicate the agency is continuing to examine the alleged accumulation of assets and the financial transactions linked to them. These are allegations under investigation; no court has held them proved.

Vijayabaskar, who served as health minister from 2016 to 2021, joined the Joseph Vijay-led TVK in July this year, after the party's rise to power, along with several other former AIADMK leaders. He is currently the TVK's Pudukkottai district organisational secretary. What happens next turns on the couple's appearances before the ED in Chennai, beginning with Vijayabaskar's on November 6.

Sources