ED assessing financial transactions of Andaman co-op bank scam accused

Port Blair, Aug 28 (PTI) The Enforcement Directorate (ED), which is probing the Andaman and Nicobar State Cooperative Bank Ltd (ANSCBL) loan scam, is now examining the financial status and transactions of the suspects and accused persons in other banks.

Investigators believe that tracking the money trail across multiple bank accounts is essential to understanding the role of firms, businessmen, and bank officials in the alleged fraud.

"We are collecting account statements and financial transactions of all loan-defaulting firms having accounts in other banks to record their liabilities and assess their financial behaviour. Their money trail in other banks is key to detecting any suspicious activity and to verifying if offshore investments were made," a senior ED official said.

On May 15, the Andaman and Nicobar Police lodged an FIR against ex-Congress MP Kuldeep Rai Sharma in connection with the ANSCBL loan scam.

On July 18, the CID arrested Sharma (former chairman of ANSCBL) in connection with the loan irregularities case.

The arrest was made following a complaint by the deputy registrar of cooperative societies (HQ), who alleged gross irregularities in sanctioning loans to various people by the lender.

Apart from Sharma, others named in the FIR include the cooperative bank’s former chairman, board members and directors/officials of the bank and several beneficiaries.

The ED later launched a parallel investigation, conducting its first-ever search operation in the islands on July 31.

In the last two weeks, more than 10 people have been summoned to Kolkata for questioning.

During the searches, ED officers collected evidence suggesting that over Rs 500 crore in loans had been fraudulently obtained through more than 100 loan accounts, officials said.

Since June 25, eight people have been arrested in connection with the scam. They are ANSCBL managing director K. Murugan, ANSCBL director K. Subramanian, bank employee Kalaivanan, Bablu Halder (director of Andaman Mormon Infrastructure Private Limited), Tarun Mondal (director of Blair Enterprises Private Limited), Ajay Minz (director of Andaman Treepie Adventure Private Limited), and M. Sajid (Owner of M/s Andaman Escapades). PTI SN SN MNB