In a troubling piece of news for the ruling DMK government, the Enforcement Directorate has registered a case against Tamil Nadu Minister Senthil Balaji under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. The development has drawn major attention from the state amid the raids at the properties of former ADMK Minister SP Velumani. Senthil Balaji has been serving as the Minister of Electricity, Prohibition, and Excise in MK Stalin's government.

According to reports, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had summoned the minister to appear before the body for investigation on August 11, becoming the first minister in MK Stalin's government to face a summon. The case was related to a conspiracy when Senthil Balaji was with the ADMK and served as the Minister of Transport during the ADMK's first term of rule. IANS has reported that the Tamil Nadu Police's Central Crime Branch had registered three cases against Senthil Balaji on charges of cheating while serving as Transport minister in the previous ADMK government. 

However, the Madras High Court had repealed one of the cases and the ED has filed a fresh case against Senthil Balaji based on the other cases registered against him. According to the Crime Branch FIR, it was alleged that Senthil Balaji had entered into a conspiracy with senior officials of the state transport undertakings, while he was serving as the Transport Minister, with a motive of appointing people as drivers, conductor, junior tradesman, assistant engineer, and junior engineers.

Along with Senthil Balaji, some of the senior officials of these undertakings were charged for committing a criminal conspiracy in changing the interview marks of candidates in records. It has been reported that the charge sheet, that was filed in the matter, had said that the registers were meddled with to provide jobs to the candidates who are ineligible for the jobs. In March 2021, the Chennai Crime Branch had filed a charge sheet in which it has thrown several allegations against the minister including indulging in corrupt practices in recruitment. 

Based on the charge sheet, the ED had summoned Senthil Balaji to appear before it on August 11. Senthil Balaji was with the ADMK and he was expelled from the party by the then Chief J Jayalalithaa and after the latter's demise, Balaji had supported TTV Dhinakaran, and ahead of the Tamil Nadu assembly polls, he joined the DMK and contested from his home turf Karur constituency against the ADMK candidate MR Vijayabaskar. Balaji had won the polls and Chief Minister MK Stalin had inducted him into the cabinet and awarded the post of Minister of Electricity, Prohibition, and Excise.