Former Housing & Urban Development Minister, sons booked for Rs 27 crore bribe

CHENNAI:Directorate of Vigilance and Anti Corruption (DVAC) has booked former housing and urban development minister and Orathanadu MLA R Vaithilingam of the AIADMK for receiving Rs 27 crore bribe for according planning permission for high rise buildings of Shriram Properties and infrastructure private limited.

The money was routed to a shell company started by Vaithilingam’s family members used primarily for the transaction of bribe amount paid to the minister.

Apart from Vaithilingam, DVAC has also booked his sons, V Prabhu, V Shanmugaprabhu and brother in law, R Panneerselvam - Directors of the shell company, M/s Muthammal estates pvt ltd, K R Ramesh, Director of M/s Shriram Properties and Infrastructure pvt ltd among others.

DVAC action is based on a petition by anti corruption NGO Arappor Iyakkam in July 2022.

According to DVAC, Shriram Properties has been in the business of constructing buildings and leased them out to IT companies since late 2000.

The company had submitted for Planning Permission to CMDA on December 2, 2013 to construct 1453 additional buildings, including residential and IT buildings in the 57. 94 acre land on GST Road, Perungalathur, Chennai.

The Planning Permit file had been pending with the CMDA from Dec 2, 2013 to February 24, 2016 after which it was approved.

“When the file was pending with Vaithilingam, then Minister for Housing and Urban Development, M/s Shriram Properties has paid Rs.27.90 Crores as a bribe to the Minister for the approval of the planning permission through a circuitous route to avoid direct payment and easier detection,” the DVAC FIR stated.

M/s.Muthammal Estates Pvt. Ltd., is a company run by the sons of Vaithilingam and this Company was incorporated on September 22, 2014 with a share capital of Rs 36 lakhs.

Scrutiny of Muthammal estates’ bank transaction showed that Rs 27.9 crore was credited within a short span of eight days (between Jan 28,2016 and Feb 2,2016) from Bharath Coal Chemicals as loan.

Muthammal Estates Pvt Ltd had used this amount to purchase lands at Pappakuruchi village in Tiruchy District.

“It is ascertained that Rs 18 crores were made as advances towards buying lands in the name of Muthammal Estates in 2016, immediately after the credit of Rs 27.9 crores,” the FIR stated.

Similarly. M/s Muthammal Estates Pvt Ltd, did not have any prior experience and its revenue from operations from the Financial Year 2014-15 to till 2019-20 is Zero.

It shows that the amount of Rs 27.9 crores was not provided in based on their financial capacity or ability to repay Bharat Coal Chemicals Ltd, which is not into the business of financial lending Therefore, there Is reasonable ground to believe that the unsecured loan was the bribe amount given to the accused Vaithilingam in order to secure the planning permit by Shriram Properties, DVAC stated.