New Delhi, February 13 The Enforcement Directorate said on Friday that it has attached hotels, resorts, and land parcels worth ₹200 crore in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands as part of an investigation into money laundering.
These assets were "directly or indirectly" derived from, or involved in, the ₹500 crore fraud perpetrated at the Andaman and Nicobar State Cooperative Bank Ltd (ANSCBL).
A total of 51 immovable properties worth ₹200.02 crore have been attached after a provisional order was issued under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the federal agency said in a statement.
These properties are in the names of the accused persons, their family members, close associates, and companies and firms controlled by them, the ED said. However, it did not specify exactly whom the attached assets belonged to.
The attached properties were acquired from various landowners and farmers in the name of dummy directors and shell companies through power of attorney to conceal the actual consideration amount, according to the agency.
The money laundering case stems from an FIR filed by the Crime and Economic Offences Cell of the Andaman and Nicobar Police against former local MP and Congress leader Kuldeep Rai Sharma, Managing Director of the bank K Murugan, loan officer K Kalaivanan, and hotelier Sanjay Lal, along with some other individuals and companies.
All these persons have been arrested by the agency.
The ED alleged that Sharma, the vice-chairman of the bank and the alleged mastermind of the fraud, in collusion with his accomplices, operated 23 shell companies and some other entities for "fraudulently" availing loans from the cooperative bank.
More than 100 high-value loans were deliberately sanctioned to these entities in gross violation of NABARD guidelines, RBI directions, and internal circulars of ANSCBL, the ED claimed.
A chargesheet was filed by the ED in November 2025 before a special PMLA court in Port Blair against 39 entities, including the named accused.
The Calcutta (Port Blair Bench) recently dismissed the bail plea of Sharma and Sanjay Lal.