The Enforcement Directorate announced the provisional attachment of ₹121.35 crore in assets in the alleged Andaman and Nicobar State Co-operative Bank fraud. Its November 5 order covers 35 immovable and five movable properties, including Joye Grand Hotel, tourist vessels and bank deposits. The ED also filed a supplementary PMLA complaint on November 6 involving former MP Kuldeep Rai Sharma and others. Total attachments now stand at ₹326.91 crore, while the agency estimates alleged proceeds of crime exceed ₹500 crore.
Andaman Bank Fraud Case Sees ED Attach Rs 121 Crore in Assets Linked to Former MP
The Enforcement Directorate has attached luxury tourist vessels, a hotel, land and bank deposits in a purported Rs 500 crore cooperative bank fraud involving former parliamentarian Kuldeep Rai Sharma.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached assets worth Rs 121.35 crore, including two semi-submarine tourist vessels, a hotel and land, in a major development in the Andaman bank fraud case.
The agency said the attachment was announced on Wednesday, November 11, 2026, and the properties were allegedly attached in connection with a Rs 500 crore fraud involving the Andaman and Nicobar State Co-operative Bank.
The ED also confirmed filing a fresh prosecution complaint, generally known as a chargesheet, on November 6 before a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act court in Port Blair.
Andaman Bank Fraud Case and the Latest PMLA Attachment
The agency said a provisional order of attachment was passed on November 5 under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) for 35 immovable properties and five movable properties.
The attached assets include land and building of Joye Grand Hotel in Andaman, two semi-submarine tourist vessels imported from Croatia, more land parcels and bank deposits.
The vessels, reportedly purchased for around Rs 2.11 crore, are registered in the name of Andaman Escapades Pvt. Ltd., but investigators say the real beneficiary was ex-MP Kuldeep Rai Sharma.
The vessels were bought with funds obtained through a fraudulent loan taken in the name of shell company Heyday Hospitality Services Pvt Ltd, the ED said.
Other attached properties were allegedly acquired through powers of attorney or sale agreements signed by borrowers, accused persons and dummy directors.
Also Read: Raheja Developers Case: ED Seeks Confiscation of Assets Worth ₹2,399 Crore
Kuldeep Rai Sharma and Allegations Against Bank Officials
One of the key accused under probe is Congress leader and former MP Kuldeep Rai Sharma. He was earlier the vice chairman of the cooperative bank.
The case originated from a First Information Report filed by the Crime and Economic Offences Cell of the Andaman and Nicobar Police.
The ED says Sharma, bank officials and associates floated loans through shell companies, violating banking norms before siphoning off the funds and leaving the loans unpaid.
The agency has alleged that senior officials, including Sharma and the bank's managing director K Murugan, who is deceased, received bribes of about five per cent of sanctioned loan amounts.
The probe also alleges that some loans were approved for more than was needed, and parts of the money disbursed were allegedly collected in cash or funnelled through shell companies.
The allegations are about alleged financial irregularities in public cooperative banking activities and raise questions about loan approvals, oversight mechanisms and the movement of borrowers' funds.
Investigation Timeline and Total Assets Attached
The ED filed its first chargesheet in November 2025 naming Kuldeep Rai Sharma among the accused. The latest prosecution complaint is the second in the case.
The two chargesheets together have named 52 accused, the agency said. The latest attachment takes the total value of properties attached in the probe to Rs 326 crore.
The latest action by the agency is the attachment of assets worth Rs 121.35 crore, while the total attachment figure is an outcome of the earlier action in the same probe.
The ED has not established guilt on the basis of mere attachment or a prosecution complaint. The allegations have to be examined and decided in proceedings before the competent court.
The filing of a fresh complaint before the special PMLA court in Port Blair is another step in the investigation, and more judicial proceedings are likely to take place to scrutinise the allegations and the evidence.
The case additionally emphasises the need for financial accountability and protections against alleged abuses of lending systems for cooperative banking stakeholders, borrowers and homebuyers. Sprouts News will be monitoring the legal proceedings as they develop.
