The Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted its first search operation in the Andaman & Nicobar Islands, focusing on alleged financial irregularities worth Rs 200 crore at a cooperative bank. The investigation included raids at nine locations in Port Blair, including the residence of Congress leader and former Lok Sabha MP Kuldeep Rai Sharma. Sharma, the vice-chairperson of the Andaman and Nicobar State Cooperative (ANSC) Bank, had lost the last year’s general elections and resigned before being arrested by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) in July. The case began when the deputy registrar of cooperative societies complained of gross violations by the ANSC management in sanctioning loans. The ED said that Rs 200 crore were sanctioned as loans from the bank, which were transferred to Sharma through shell companies. Fifteen of these shell companies have been investigated so far.
ED conducted first raid in Andaman and Nicobar, focusing on Rs 200 crore cooperative bank scam
