The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has, in a third and strongly worded communication dated 14 January 2026, laid out what it describes as concrete and extensive evidence of a large-scale bribery and money-laundering racket linked to transfers and postings in Tamil Nadu’s Municipal Administration and Water Supply (MAWS) Department under DMK minister KN Nehru.
The agency has alleged that bribes amounting to ₹365.87 crore were collected from government officers and engineers in exchange for favourable postings, calling it only a small part of a much larger, systemic corruption network operating within government departments.
According to the ED, the evidence was uncovered during analysis of digital devices seized in April 2025 as part of searches conducted in an unrelated case. The seized material included photographs, WhatsApp conversations, documents, transfer orders, and transaction details. Investigators stated that the data was cross-linked and analysed to establish multiple instances of bribe payments connected to transfers and postings within the MAWS Department.
What The ED’s January 14 Letter Says
In its letter to the Tamil Nadu police and the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC), the ED stated that:
- Bribes ranging from ₹7 lakh to ₹1 crore were allegedly collected for transfers of MAWS engineers and officers.
- A list of around 340 officers and engineers whose transfer and posting orders were found stored on digital devices seized from associates linked to KN Nehru, the MAWS Minister.
- 10 to 15 specific instances of bribe payments by engineers were cited with supporting digital evidence.
The agency asserted that the compiled material constituted direct evidence of money laundering under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), with proceeds of crime totalling ₹365.87 crore.
Break-Up Of Alleged Money Laundering
The ED’s nearly 100-page dossier reportedly provided a detailed break-up of how the alleged proceeds of crime were laundered and spent by individuals linked to the network:
- Through construction and real-estate business: ₹223.65 crore (True Value Homes)
- Through property and investments: ₹36.15 crore
- Through benami entities: ₹58.11 crore
- Through investments in gold bullion: ₹2.33 crore
- Through investments in foreign property: ₹44.88 crore
Investigators also claimed to have found evidence pointing to the purchase of a 34-acre property in the United States, along with indicators of a lavish lifestyle in India.
ED Warns Against FIR Delay
The ED explicitly warned that failure to register a First Information Report (FIR) based on the evidence provided would amount to assisting the accused. It stressed that Section 3 of the PMLA is “very harsh” and applies to anyone who knowingly aids in the generation, concealment, or continuation of proceeds of crime.
The agency urged the Tamil Nadu Chief Secretary, the Director General of Police, and the head of DVAC to immediately register a corruption FIR, cautioning authorities not to take shelter behind preliminary enquiries or procedural permissions. The ED stated that delay would only allow offenders time to destroy evidence and continue corrupt practices.
Part Of A Larger Pattern
The latest dossier adds to a series of corruption allegations linked to the MAWS Department. In earlier submissions, the ED had flagged:
- An alleged cash-for-jobs scam involving bribes of ₹25–35 lakh per appointment.
- A bribes-for-contracts racket, where contractors were allegedly forced to pay 7.5–10% of project values for civic works such as toilet construction, infrastructure projects, and outsourcing services.
The agency had also alleged that tenders were manipulated even before opening, with contracts steered towards pre-selected companies and bribes routed through cash and hawala channels.
Breaking : the Jan 14 letter sent to Dvac by ED has the following contents. No media house has published the news.
Biggest JOB scam in the history of TN.
TVH Series. pic.twitter.com/Qao8vvqmaE
— kishore k swamy 🇮🇳 (@sansbarrier) January 20, 2026
No FIR, No Headlines
Despite the gravity of the allegations, no FIR has been registered so far. The Tamil Nadu Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption has only ordered preliminary enquiries into earlier dossiers. Minister K.N. Nehru has denied the allegations in the past and stated that he would challenge them legally but has not yet responded to the latest ED report.
Notably, even as the ED has placed detailed documentary and digital evidence on record, large sections of the Dravidianist-aligned media have remained conspicuously silent, failing to report or scrutinise what the agency itself has described as a fraction of a massive, systemic scam.
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