The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has fined S. Jagathrakshakan, a ruling DMK MP from Arakkonam, and his family ₹908 crore in a Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) case.
Jagathrakshakan is a Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) leader and businessman. His Accord group has interests in hospitality, pharmaceuticals, and liquor manufacturing. He also owns the Bharath Institute of Higher Education and Research (BIHER).
The financial probe agency said in a statement on X that the DMK MP and his family members have been fined in a case under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), adding that the amount includes confiscated assets worth ₹89 crore.
The ED said it had conducted a probe under FEMA against Jagathrakshakan and his family members, following which properties valued at ₹89.19 crore were seized and confiscated under Section 37A of FEMA.
In addition, a fine to the tune of ₹908 crore has been slapped through an adjudication order issued on Monday. On December 1, 2021, the ED filed a FEMA complaint against Jagathrakshakan and his family under Section 17 of FEMA.
They were charged for violating FEMA provisions, mainly regarding an investment of ₹42 crore in a shell company in Singapore in 2017, the acquisition and transfer of Singaporean shares among family members, and an investment of Rs 9 crore in a Sri Lankan entity.
Jagathratchakan, a three-time Lok Sabha MP from the Arakkonam constituency, was first elected in 1999. He also served as the Minister of State for Commerce and Industry in the UPA government under Manmohan Singh. Jagathratchakan had faced allegations related to the coal scam in Tamil Nadu in 2012 when he was accused of facilitating illegal coal allocations to one of his companies.
This story is based on an IANS-syndicated feed.
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