The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has named former Andaman and Nicobar MP Kuldeep Rai Sharma and 13 other individuals and entities in a supplementary prosecution complaint in the alleged ₹500-crore Andaman Nicobar State Cooperative Bank (ANSCBL) fraud, taking the total number of accused in the case to 52. The investigation has uncovered alleged diversion of bank loans through shell companies, inflated property valuations and transactions involving businesses and assets linked to the accused.
The ED’s Kolkata Zonal Office-II filed the supplementary complaint on November 6, 2026, before the Special Court under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in Port Blair. The newly named accused include Jayanta Bala, J. Suresh Chandran, an empanelled property valuer of ANSCBL, John Robert Babu, Anil Kumar, Md. Ali, P. Abhilash and Kiran Lal N. H., along with their companies.
The money laundering investigation originated from an FIR registered by the Crime and Economic Offences Police Station of the Andaman and Nicobar Police against private individuals and bank officials. The case concerns alleged irregularities in loan sanctions involving bank officials, including Sharma, who served as the bank’s Vice-Chairman, and their associates.
According to the ED, the accused allegedly floated 23 shell companies and secured large loans for these entities and other businesses by violating bank rules, despite having no intention of repaying the money. The agency identified loans of approximately ₹301.50 crore disbursed to 21 shell companies, of which around ₹271 crore subsequently turned into non-performing assets (NPAs). It has identified total proceeds of crime exceeding ₹500 crore.
Investigation findings cited by the agency indicate that several shell companies operated through associates or dummy directors and obtained substantial loans within months of incorporation despite having no established business records.
The ED alleged that borrowers used low-value land as collateral after arranging for its valuation to be inflated several times in collusion with bank officials and private individuals. The same properties were allegedly mortgaged repeatedly to secure additional loans.
The agency further alleged that borrowers diverted the disbursed funds through cash withdrawals and transfers across multiple bank accounts belonging to shell companies and associates, rather than using the money for the purposes stated in their loan applications.
The diverted funds were allegedly invested in land, hotels, resorts and semi-submarine tourist vessels, besides being used to repay earlier loans. According to the investigation, several assets were held in the names of family members and associates to conceal their actual ownership.
The ED also found that some land transactions relied on powers of attorney and sale agreements without registered sale deeds. The agency alleged that borrowers subsequently used these properties as collateral for fresh bank loans, which also became NPAs.
The investigation also extended beyond shell companies to established businesses. The ED alleged that several active companies received loans in exchange for commissions amounting to approximately 5 per cent of the sanctioned amounts, which were allegedly paid to Sharma and senior bank officials.
The agency further alleged that Sharma and his wife, Vinita Sharma, benefited from fraudulent loans worth approximately ₹81.10 crore obtained through companies linked to him and entities operating in his wife’s name.
In an earlier phase of the investigation, the ED arrested Sharma, K. Murugan, the then Managing Director of the bank who is now deceased, loan officer K. Kalaivanan and Sanjay Lal. The agency subsequently filed its first prosecution complaint on November 14, 2025, against 39 individuals and entities.
The ED has also attached properties worth approximately ₹326.91 crore in connection with the case. This includes assets valued at ₹205.56 crore attached through an order dated February 10, 2026, which the Adjudicating Authority confirmed, and another ₹121.35 crore attached through an order dated November 5, 2026.
Through the supplementary complaint, the agency has sought confiscation of the attached properties.
