In a fresh trouble for former Union telecom minister and DMK leader Dayanidhi Maran and his brother Kalanidhi, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday attached properties worthRs 742 crore in connection with its probe into the 2G scam investigations.

The agency had registered a case against the Marans under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act and is trailing "proceeds of crime" worth Rs 742 crore allegedly laundered by the brothers.

ED said Maran's properties, including land and building worth Rs 171.55 crore owned by Kal Comm Private Limited and shares and fixed deposits valued over Rs 742 crore, have been provisionally attached.

This also includes fixed deposits worth Rs 31.34 crore held by Sun Direct TV and mutual funds worth Rs 15.14 crore held in the name of South Asia FM.

Fixed deposits worth Rs 100 crores held by Kalanithi Maran and of Rs 1.30 crore held by Kaveri Maran too have been attached, said a press statement.

The CBI in its chargesheet had noted that Dayanidhi Maran, when he was the telecom minister between 2004 and 2007, had entered into a criminal conspiracy against C Sivasankaran of Aircel and stalled approvals for spectrum licences to Aircel Ltd only to force him to sell his company to Malaysia's Maxis Communication which later invested in Maran's Sun Network group. The agency also alleged that the Rs 629-crore investment by Maxis in the Sun Network was part of the Rs 742 crore quid pro quo the Maran's received for the Aircel deal.

Based on CBI's chargesheet, ED probe identified assets worth Rs 742 crore and questioned two brothers during which they claimed that the transactions were done in the interest of the business and had no malafide intentions.

ED, however, was not satisfied with the replies given by them on their economic interests, investments from abroad and the financial transactions of their companies in India.

- Manohar