CHENNAI, Oct 20: The Madras High Court ordered that the money laundering case registered against former minister and DMK leader K Ponmudy and his son Gautham Sigamani by the Enforcement Directorate under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) be quashed following their acquittal in the predicate offence case.
The first bench of Chief Justice Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari and Justice G Arul Murugan passed the order on petitions filed by Ponmudy and his son.
Ponmudy and his son had approached the court seeking to quash the money laundering case citing the fact that the special court in Villupuram had acquitted them of all the charges in the predicate offence case.
The predicate offence case was registered by the district crime branch police in Villupuram for alleged irregularities in awarding licence to quarry red sand to Ponmudy’s close relatives, including his son, during 2007-11 when he was holding the portfolio of mines and minerals.
He was also charged with causing losses to the tune of 28.37 crore to the state exchequer by allowing extraction of red sand exceeding the permitted level.
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