ED conducts 11-hour raid at DMK minister Duraimurugan’s residence in Vellore

VELLORE (Tamil Nadu): The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday conducted an 11-hour raid at the residence of DMK General Secretary and Tamil Nadu Water Resources Minister Duraimurugan in Vellore district. The raid, which began on Friday afternoon concluded at 1.35 am on Saturday.

The ED conducted the raid at Duraimurugan’s residence as part of its ongoing investigation into an alleged money laundering case connected to violations of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) guidelines and cheating by bank officials during the demonetization period. The raids were carried out by the ED at four locations in Tamil Nadu’s Vellore district, connected to Duraimurugan and other accused individuals.

#WATCH | Tamil Nadu: ED raids continued for 11 hours at DMK General Secretary and Tamil Nadu Water Resources Minister Duraimurugan’s residence in Vellore district.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) search ended at 1:35 AM. pic.twitter.com/ggHkkiBVOQ

— ANI (@ANI) January 4, 2025

The ED is investigating an alleged violation of RBI guidelines and cheating by bank officials who reportedly facilitated the illegal exchange of Rs 200 notes for Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes during demonetization. This malpractice allowed individuals to bypass government restrictions aimed at curbing black money and counterfeit currency.

The ED’s raids, including those at locations connected to Duraimurugan, were part of efforts to uncover the extent of these irregularities and identify those involved.The Centre on November 8, 2016, decided to cancel the legal tender status of Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 denomination currency notes with several objectives, including flushing out black money, eliminating Fake Indian Currency Notes (FICN), striking at the root of financing of terrorism and Left-wing extremism, to convert non-formal economy into a formal economy to expand tax base and employment, and to give a big boost to digitalisation of payments to make India a less cash economy. (ANI)