The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has intensified pressure on the newly installed TVK government by seeking sanction to prosecute another senior DMK leader and former minister, Anitha R Radhakrishnan, in a money laundering case, as reported in The Free Press Journal.
Sources said the ED wrote to the Tamil Nadu government on 20 May 2026, requesting approval to prosecute the former fisheries minister under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The move comes just five days after the agency sought sanction against another former DMK minister, V Senthil Balaji, in the alleged cash-for-jobs scam linked to appointments in the transport department.
The back-to-back communications have placed Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay’s fledgling administration under scrutiny as it weighs action against leaders of a party he repeatedly described as a “theeya sakthi” (evil force) during the election campaign. Sources confirmed that the Tamil Nadu government has acknowledged receipt of both letters but is yet to respond. Vijay assumed office on 10 May 2026.
In its four-page communication regarding Radhakrishnan, the ED invoked Section 218 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), stating that if sanction is not granted within 120 days of receipt, approval would be treated as “deemed to have been given”, sources said.
Senior officials indicated that the agency had earlier written multiple times to both the Tamil Nadu Governor and the previous DMK government seeking sanction to prosecute ministers under Section 197 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), now Section 218 of BNSS, citing the Supreme Court ruling in Directorate of Enforcement vs Bibhu Prasad Acharya (2024). However, no sanction was granted during the previous regime.
Radhakrishnan, MLA from Tiruchendur in Thoothukudi district, is among the few senior DMK leaders to retain political relevance after the 2026 Assembly elections.
The ED launched its probe against Radhakrishnan in 2020 following a disproportionate assets case registered in 2006 by the Tamil Nadu Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC), alleging assets worth ₹2.07 crore disproportionate to known sources of income.
The agency later filed a prosecution complaint before a PMLA court on March 28, 2025, after attaching immovable properties worth ₹1.26 crore in Thoothukudi, Madurai and Chennai. The court is yet to take cognisance of the matter. Earlier, in 2022, the ED had attached 18 properties valued at nearly ₹1 crore in connection with the case.
Sources said the latest communication to the Tamil Nadu government was effectively a reminder following an earlier letter sent on March 24. The ED had subsequently furnished additional documents sought by the chief secretary.
Scoop: Enforcement Directorate once again writes to TN govt under CM Joseph Vijay, request sanction to prosecute ex-DMK minister Anitha R Radhakrishnan.
Second letter in a week, first was seeking sanction to prosecute Senthil Balaji.
ED keeps up pressure on TVK govt.
On pg1 of… pic.twitter.com/RKzTSn4Sqw— Siddharth Prabhakar (@Sidprabhakar7) May 23, 2026
Earlier, on 18 May 2026, it was reported that the ED had approached the Tamil Nadu government seeking sanction to prosecute former DMK minister V Senthil Balaji in the alleged cash-for-jobs scam linked to transport department recruitments between 2011 and 2016. The agency reportedly alleged that the previous DMK government had “deliberately delayed” granting sanction because Senthil Balaji continued to remain a minister despite facing money laundering allegations. The ED had arrested Senthil Balaji in June 2023 and later filed a prosecution complaint before a special PMLA court in Chennai, though the trial has remained stalled pending sanction from the state government.
Scoop: Enforcement Directorate writes to TN government under CM Vijay, seeks sanction to prosecute ex-DMK minister Senthil Balaji in cash-for-jobs scam.
ED also alleges outgoing DMK govt “deliberately delayed” sanctioning this, as Senthil Balaji was part of the govt.
Stay tuned. pic.twitter.com/LOWdvLsKXf— Siddharth Prabhakar (@Sidprabhakar7) May 18, 2026
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