Overview
- The Enforcement Directorate registered a money‑laundering case and began a financial probe on Thursday after obtaining Chennai Central Crime Branch files that allege a ₹100 crore scheme tied to private school approvals.
- The city police CCB had earlier filed an FIR after complaints from private‑school managers, carried out multi‑location searches in Chennai and Tiruchirappalli and seized property papers, bank-related documents and electronic devices.
- CCB investigators arrested DMK functionary P T Arasakumar and three relatives and have named former School Education Minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi as an accused; the former minister was questioned and premises linked to him were searched.
- Police are also seeking former DMK MLA Muthukumar as inquiries continue, and the ED is planning targeted searches at addresses linked to Anbil Mahesh and Arasakumar as it maps the alleged money trail.
- If the ED establishes that funds were routed or used in ways covered by the PMLA the agency can pursue asset seizures and prosecution, and the probe may deepen scrutiny of how private‑school approvals were handled and the financial harm to school managers who filed complaints.