ED probes secret ‘party fund’, who handled it in TN Tasmac ‘scam’
ED believes a network of politicians, bureaucrats, and private players siphoned off huge sums, with a large portion going to the ‘party fund’
The Enforcement Directorate (ED), as part of its investigation into an alleged money laundering network linked to Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation (TASMAC), is probing a secretive ‘party fund’ allegedly used to collect kickbacks from the ‘scam’, estimated to be worth several hundred crores of rupees.
Also read: TASMAC 'scam': AIADMK questions role of Udhayanidhi’s 'friend' Ratheesh
What is ’party fund’?
According to ED sources, the scam involved inflating liquor prices, creating fake bills, and funnelling the extra money into shell companies, film projects, and other investments. The agency believes a complex network of politicians, bureaucrats, and private players siphoned off huge sums, with a large portion going to the ‘party fund’. This fund, sources say, is a system where contractors and companies pay 5-10 per cent of project costs to the ruling party to secure deals or approvals.
Political backing
In the Tasmac ‘scam’, private distilleries reportedly paid 10-20 per cent of their contract value, including the ‘party fund’, to get purchase orders. For example, a Rs 100 crore order could generate Rs 20 crore in kickbacks, with Rs 300-400 crore collected annually through this system, industry sources claim. Only distilleries with political backing, like MIDAS and MB Distilleries during the AIADMK regime, secured big orders, ED sources said. After the DMK came to power, these companies were sidelined or merged with others, the sources added.
Also read: Tasmac probe hits new milestone as ED questions Visakan
ED chasing source
The ED is now trying to uncover who manages the ‘party fund’ and where the money goes. Recent raids targeted Tasmac’s Managing Director S Visakan IAS, film producer Aakash Baskaran, and another individual, Ratheesh, suspected of handling the fund. The agency said it has mapped the entire money laundering operation and is dismantling it step by step.
While former minister V Senthil Balaji, jailed for over a year in a separate cash-for-jobs scam, is not directly linked, the ED is probing who controlled the party fund in his absence. Whether the agency has found evidence against Baskaran and Ratheesh will be clear only after the raids conclude and an official statement is released.
Also read: Tasmac continues to power TN's treasury with Rs 48,344 cr tax revenue in FY25
ED damaging party's reputation: DMK
Even as the alleged scam has left Tamil Nadu’s political and business circle rattled, the DMK has denied any role in it. DMK spokesperson J Constandine Ravindran stated that the raids are intended to damage the DMK's reputation. He questioned whether previous searches had yielded any results, asserting that these actions are solely meant to defame the DMK government and will ultimately prove fruitless.
