The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has alleged a large-scale cash-for-jobs scam in the Tamil Nadu Municipal Administration and Water Supply (MAWS) department, claiming that bribes ranging from ₹25 lakh to ₹35 lakh per post were collected by influential politicians and their associates to manipulate recruitment for at least 150 candidates.
In a letter sent on Monday to the Tamil Nadu Head of Police Force (HoPF) under Section 66(2) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the ED urged the state police to initiate an investigation into the alleged irregularities. The appointments in question pertain to 2,538 posts, including assistant engineers, town planning officers, junior engineers, and sanitary inspectors, for which around 1.12 lakh candidates had applied in early 2024. Appointment orders were distributed by Chief Minister MK Stalin on 5 August 2025.
According to the ED, the alleged bribery network was uncovered during searches conducted earlier in 2025 as part of a money laundering probe into True Value Homes (TVH), a firm linked to N Ravichandran, brother of Tamil Nadu Minister for Municipal Administration KN Nehru. The agency said that powerful politicians and individuals close to them orchestrated the exam rigging in mid-2024, ensuring that select candidates received appointment orders in August 2025.
The ED has also called for an inquiry into officials of Anna University, which conducted the recruitment examinations. Along with its letter, the agency submitted a 232-page dossier containing the names of the suspected masterminds and a detailed account of the alleged modus operandi. The document reportedly includes evidence tracing the collection and transfer of bribes through middlemen and lists 150 candidates who benefited from the manipulation.
When contacted, MAWS Secretary D Karthikeyan said he was unaware of the ED’s communication and maintained that the recruitment process was conducted “perfectly fine” without any irregularities.
(Source: The New Indian Express)
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