Chennai, Sep 18 (IANS) The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday launched extensive searches in Chennai and Hyderabad in connection with a money laundering probe into an alleged Rs 200 crore bank fraud and benami property dealings linked to V. K. Sasikala, the confidante of late Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa. Officials confirmed that the searches covered at least ten locations across the two cities. The premises, according to the source, are connected to a businessman who has been identified as an alleged benami of Sasikala. The raids were conducted under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

The investigation stems from a case registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which had earlier filed an FIR over what it described as fraudulent banking transactions running into hundreds of crores. Acting on this, the ED initiated its own money laundering probe to trace the flow of funds and identify properties suspected to have been acquired through illegal means or in the names of benami holders. Sources said officials are seizing documents, financial records, property deeds and electronic evidence from the searched locations. These materials will be examined to establish links between the bank fraud and assets allegedly concealed through benami arrangements.

While the extent of seizures is not yet clear, officials indicated that the raids were aimed at unearthing the full scale of transactions connected to the case. The action once again puts Sasikala back in the spotlight. A key player in Tamil Nadu politics for decades, she has previously faced allegations and legal battles over disproportionate assets. The ED’s current move revives scrutiny into her financial networks, particularly through associates and business entities suspected to have acted as fronts.

Investigators are likely to expand the probe depending on the findings from the ongoing searches. If evidence of laundering or concealment is confirmed, assets may be provisionally attached under PMLA, and further charges could follow. The raids have drawn political attention as well, with observers noting that the timing and the scale of the operation underscore the central agency’s renewed focus on high-profile economic offences in Tamil Nadu.