Chennai | The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday conducted searches against Tamil Nadu Electricity department minister V Senthil Balaji and some others as part of a money laundering investigation, official sources said.

The raids are being carried out at Balaji's premises in state capital Chennai and Karur.

The Supreme Court had last month allowed a police and ED probe into an alleged cash-for-jobs scam against Balaji, who also holds the Prohibition and Excise portfolio.

The searches are being undertaken under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), they said.

Last month, the Income-tax department too had searched people close to Balaji in the state.