Chennai: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has summoned former AIADMK minister C Vijayabaskar, now with TVK, and his wife to appear before its investigating officers on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively, in connection with a money laundering probe linked to a disproportionate assets case against the couple.The agency issued fresh summons after Vijayabaskar failed to appear at its office on Nov 6. ED sources said he had given no explanation for his absence, prompting the agency to consult its legal team before summoning him again. The summons sent to his wife by post were returned with an endorsement that the addressee was unavailable.ED sources confirmed that Vijayabaskar has been summoned on Wednesday and his wife on Thursday.The money laundering investigation stems from an FIR registered by the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) in 2021. The agency accused the couple of amassing assets disproportionate to their known sources of income between 2016 and 2021, when Vijayabaskar was health minister in the AIADMK government. DVAC filed a chargesheet in 2024, pegging the alleged disproportionate assets at Rs 35.79 crore.ED questioned the couple in 2024. They did not appear in response to a subsequent round of summons, leading to the latest notices, agency sources said.
