ED Conducts First-Ever Searches In Andaman & Nicobar In ₹200 Crore Bank Loan Scam; Ex-MP Kuldeep Rai Sharma Under ED Lens

Mumbai: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday carried out its first-ever search operations in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands as part of a money laundering probe linked to an alleged Rs 200 crore loan fraud at the Andaman and Nicobar State Cooperative Bank (ANSCB). The case involves former union territory MP and Congress leader Kuldeep Rai Sharma, who also served as the bank’s vice chairman.

ED Raids 11 Locations in Port Blair and Kolkata in ₹200 Cr Fraud Probe

The searches were conducted at nine locations in and around Port Blair and two premises in Kolkata on July 31. During the searches in Port Blair, the agency seized documents purportedly indicating large-scale irregularities in the grant of loans and overdraft facilities by ANSC Bank. The evidence collected so far shows that “loan facilities were extended to various shell companies/firms by ignoring the laid-down procedures and guidelines of the bank."

Former Andaman MP Kuldeep Sharma Under ED Scanner in ANSC Bank Scam

According to the ED, the case is based on an FIR registered by the crime and economic offences wing of the Andaman and Nicobar Police against several private individuals and bank officials. Among those under the scanner is Sharma, a 57-year-old Congress leader who served as MP from the union territory between 2019 and 2024, and held the post of vice chairman of the bank during the alleged irregularities.

Searches have also revealed that a group of around 15 entities/companies were created by suspects for the benefit of Sharma and others, and loan facilities amounting to more than Rs 200 crore were fraudulently taken by these entities from the ANSC Bank.

As alleged, a substantial portion of the loans were withdrawn in cash and paid to the beneficiaries, including Sharma.