Port Blair, India – The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has conducted its first-ever search operation in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands as part of a money laundering investigation into an alleged cooperative bank loan fraud worth over ₹200 crore. The case involves a former Congress MP from the Union Territory, Kuldeep Rai Sharma.
The raids, carried out on Thursday, targeted nine locations in and around Port Blair and two premises in Kolkata. The central probe agency conducted the searches under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
The case centers on the Andaman Nicobar State Cooperative Bank (ANSCB), where Sharma, who served as a Lok Sabha MP from 2019 to 2024, was the vice-chairman. According to official sources, the ED has recovered documents that suggest “large-scale irregularities” in the sanctioning of loans and overdraft facilities by the bank.
Investigators allege that a group of around 15 shell companies and firms were created to fraudulently obtain loan facilities exceeding ₹200 crore from the ANSCB.
These loans were allegedly extended by “ignoring” laid-down procedures and bank guidelines. A substantial portion of these funds was reportedly withdrawn in cash and funneled to beneficiaries, including Sharma.
The ED’s investigation is based on an FIR registered by the Crime and Economic Offences Wing of the Andaman Nicobar Police against several private individuals and bank officials. The role of Kuldeep Rai Sharma is under active scrutiny in the ongoing probe. This marks the maiden operation by the ED in the Union Territory.
