Port Blair, November 11, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has filed a supplementary chargesheet against former Andaman and Nicobar Islands MP Kuldeep Rai Sharma and 13 other persons and entities in the alleged Rs 500-crore fraud involving the Andaman and Nicobar State Co-operative Bank Limited (ANSCBL).
The chargesheet was filed by the ED’s Kolkata Zonal Office before the Special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) Court in Port Blair, the agency said on Wednesday.
Those newly named as accused include Jayanta Bala, J. Suresh Chandran, an empanelled property valuer of the bank, John Robert Babu, Anil Kumar, Md. Ali, P. Abhilash and Kiran Lal N.H., along with companies linked to them. The total number of accused in the case has now risen to 52.
Separately, the ED has issued a provisional attachment order covering 35 immovable and five movable properties valued at approximately Rs 121.35 crore. The attached assets include land parcels, a hotel, two semi-submarine tourist vessels and bank balances held in three accounts.
The investigation originated from an FIR registered by the Andaman and Nicobar Police’s Crime and Economic Offences Police Station against Sharma and others.
According to the ED, Sharma, who was the bank’s vice-chairman at the time, allegedly colluded with bank officials and associates to secure large loans through shell companies in violation of banking regulations. The agency alleges that the funds were subsequently diverted and not repaid.
Investigators identified 23 shell companies allegedly created without genuine business operations, with dummy directors appointed to facilitate the transactions. Loans worth around Rs 301.50 crore were sanctioned to 21 of these companies, of which approximately Rs 271 crore involving 18 companies had turned into non-performing assets (NPAs).
The ED further alleged that loans were also illegally sanctioned to other companies, including those linked to Sharma’s family members, and that the money was siphoned off through cash withdrawals and multiple bank accounts to acquire assets in the names of relatives and associates.
The agency has estimated the total proceeds of crime at more than Rs 500 crore. It also alleged that senior bank officials, including Sharma and the bank’s then Managing Director K. Murugan, who is now deceased, received bribes amounting to around five per cent of the loan amounts.
The ED said several properties attached during the investigation were either purchased using diverted loan funds or pledged at allegedly inflated valuations to obtain fraudulent loans. In some instances, land purchased for around Rs 1 crore was reportedly valued at Rs 10 crore or more in loan documents.
The allegations are part of the ongoing investigation and have not been established by a court.
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