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ED raids across tricity in ₹645-cr IDFC bank fraud case
The funds allegedly belonged to the Haryana government and Chandigarh municipal corporation. The agency did not disclose details of the recoveries made during the searches, till the filing of this report.
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The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday conducted searches at 14 premises across Chandigarh, Mohali and Panchkula as part of its money-laundering investigation into the alleged embezzlement of ₹645 crore public funds from bank accounts maintained with IDFC First Bank and AU Small Finance Bank.
The funds allegedly belonged to the Haryana government and Chandigarh municipal corporation. The agency did not disclose details of the recoveries made during the searches, till the filing of this report.
The teams also searched the premises of Gourav Kansal, who allegedly acted as a middleman in routing and layering the proceeds of crime, the ED said.
According to the investigation, the embezzled funds were routed through the bank accounts of several jewellers and disguised as business transactions. The transactions were allegedly carried out in connivance with the accused to conceal the source of the funds and project the proceeds of crime as legitimate money.
The ED has alleged that the proceeds generated through the bank accounts of various Haryana government departments and the UT administration were laundered through the jewellers. The agency has also alleged that part of the money reached accused IAS officers and other government employees allegedly involved in the IDFC First Bank fraud.
The CBI has filed a third chargesheet in the case before the special court in Panchkula, naming six Haryana-cadre IAS officers and other government servants.
The ED has so far arrested four accused persons in the money-laundering case and attached, seized or frozen movable and immovable assets worth around ₹211 crore. It has also filed a prosecution complaint against 14 accused persons before the special PMLA court in Panchkula.
