Chennai, July 30:
Opening another front in its probe against influential DMK leader V Senthilbalaji, the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) has registered a criminal case over alleged multi-crore irregularities in Tasmac operations between 2021 and 2025.
Apart from Senthilbalaji, the FIR names S Visakan, then managing director of Tasmac, two senior regional managers, an IPS officer’s brother alleged to have wielded significant influence, and Balaji’s personal assistant, among others.
The accused are alleged to have colluded in orchestrating irregularities in the issuance of bar licences, transport tenders, procurement processes and bottling operations during the period when the DMK was in power.
Acting swiftly after registering the case on Tuesday, DVAC teams carried out searches at 45 locations across Tamil Nadu on Wednesday, including 14 in Chennai and other places such as Karur, Coimbatore, Namakkal, Tirupur, Nilgiris, Tiruvallur, Kancheepuram, Tiruvarur and Thanjavur.
According to the FIR, irregularities spanned multiple aspects of Tasmac’s functioning, including alleged manipulation in awarding bar licences and transport contracts, cartelisation in tender processes, misuse of earnest money deposits, and inflated or bogus transactions involving distilleries, transport firms and bottling units.
Investigators have also alleged that transport tenders were manipulated through misuse of demand drafts, while bar licences were effectively controlled by syndicates rather than legitimate bidders. Inflated invoicing by bottle suppliers was allegedly used to generate funds for kickbacks.
Among those named is Rathesh Raj, brother of a serving IPS officer, who is accused of exerting influence over key decisions such as brand approvals, licence tenders and transfer of officials.
The FIR further alleges preferential treatment to select distillery companies and claims that excess amounts were collected from customers above the maximum retail price (MRP) for certain liquor brands during the period under scrutiny.
The DVAC has invoked charges of criminal conspiracy and abuse of official position, alleging that the actions caused significant loss to the government exchequer.