Overview
- The Enforcement Directorate filed a formal protest petition in Chennai sessions court on Friday objecting to the DVAC's February closure report in the ₹27.90 crore bribery case against former minister R. Vaithilingam.
- The DVAC has told the Principal District Judge it is reopening the Prevention of Corruption Act probe after having earlier submitted a closure report to the court.
- The ED's money‑laundering probe has already produced a PMLA prosecution complaint, provisional attachment of properties claimed to be bought with the alleged bribe, and testimony tracing ₹27.90 crore from a Shriram group firm to a company linked to Vaithilingam.
- ED's material alleges the payment came in tranches between January 28 and February 4, 2016 and that planning permission tied to the payment was cleared on February 24, 2016, while the DVAC case was first registered in September 2024.
- The sessions court will review both agencies' filings, and the outcome could determine whether the ED's PMLA case proceeds to trial and will shape scrutiny of the timing and independence of the state probe.