The story so far: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has escalated scrutiny of alleged irregularities in proceedings under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), instructing its zonal offices to examine cases involving disproportionately large haircuts through which promoters may have reacquired assets.

At its 36th Quarterly Conference of Zonal Officers in Bengaluru on September 14 and 15, ED Director Rahul Navin told officials to re-examine such alleged collusive resolution cases. The agency identified possible circumvention of Section 29A of the IBC, inflation of related-party claims, manipulation of the Committee of Creditors (CoC), asset stripping and artificially large haircuts as areas requiring scrutiny.

Officials have also been asked to analyse applications filed by resolution professionals, which involve preferential, undervalued, fraudulent and extortionate transactions, intervene before the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) where necessary, and initiate independent probe under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

What is the background?

The latest direction builds on investigations that the agency had already undertaken over the past several months.

Suspecting possible collusion during the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) of the corporate debtor, in December 2025, the ED conducted searches in matters related to Angle Infrastructure Private Limited, its resolution professional and Nauseva Buildwell LLP and its partners. The agency said it had found evidence pertaining to an alleged undervalued sale of two-acre land for Rs.31 crore before CIRP, against a valuation of Rs.160 crore during the process. It also alleged attempts to pressure homebuyers to withdraw complaints.

In February 2026, the agency arrested Arvind Kumar, who had served as resolution professional of Richa Industries Limited from December 2018 to June 2025. The ED alleged that he helped constitute a manipulated CoC that gave decisive voting power to former promoters. It said public-sector banks received Rs.40 crore against admitted claims of Rs.708 crore, resulting in a 94% haircut.

The ED arrested Jitesh Gupta in the Best Foods money-laundering case in August. It alleged that, while acting as IRP/RP for Homestead Infrastructure Development and Golden Peacock Residence, he re-admitted claims that he had earlier rejected as spurious or fraudulent, thereby altering the CoC and facilitating a resolution plan allegedly linked to the former promoter.

What is IBC?

Enacted in 2016, the Code provides a time-bound framework for resolving insolvency and maximising the value of a distressed company’s assets. Once a corporate insolvency resolution process begins, the resolution professional takes charge, creditors’ claims are examined, a CoC is constituted and eligible resolution applicants submit plans. The CoC takes the principal commercial decisions, while the NCLT approves the resolution plan in accordance with the Code.

How can the process allegedly be misused?

The cases being examined by the ED point to several possible methods:

Manipulating the CoC: Since voting power is linked to financial claims, allegedly inflated, fictitious, or related-party claims can potentially alter the composition of the committee.

Undervaluing assets: Assets may allegedly be transferred before or during CIRP at prices significantly lower than their value, thus reducing recovery for creditors.

Circumventing promoter restrictions: Section 29A bars certain specified persons from submitting resolution plans. Related entities may be used or other means adopted by defaulting promoters to regain control of assets.

Promoter re-acquisition after a haircut: The ED’s focus is to ascertain whether there are any irregularities in cases where a steep reduction in creditors’ claims is accompanied by other linked indicators and the assets subsequently return to the promoter or connected entities.

In the Alchemist Group matter, the NCLT recalled the CIRP finding the proceedings vitiated by fraud, collusion and malicious intent, after the ED alleged that the insolvency process had been misused and that the CoC was dominated by the Group entities. In Project Royal Rajvilas at Udaipur, the agency facilitated restoration of unsold inventory of 354 flats, 17 commercial units and two plots, with a stated market value of about Rs.175 crore, to the successful resolution applicant, benefiting 213 homebuyers.

Which law does ED invoke?

The ED’s intervention in IBC cases comes under the PMLA where the alleged conduct involves proceeds of crime. An IBC irregularity by itself does not automatically constitute money laundering. The agency has to establish the connection between the underlying offence, the proceeds of crime, and the alleged laundering activity. The PMLA empowers the agency to conduct searches and seizures, provisionally attach properties and arrest accused persons.

The Enforcement Directorate on Tuesday (September 15, 2026) arrested a businessman, a close aide to the ex-Trinamool Congress MLA Dabsish Kumar, in connection to a case of occupying lands and properties illegally.

The accused identified as Amit Ganguly has about 23 FIRs on his name lodged by the West Bengal Police, majorly in South 24 Parganas and other neighbouring districts. Most of these cases are of repeated involvements in criminal activities to deal with properties through fraudulent and unlawful means. 

According to the ED officials, Mr. Ganguly was summoned at the ED office for an interrogation on Tuesday (September 15, 2026). He was later arrested as he failed to give satisfying responses to the investigators’ queries. 

“Amit Ganguly acquired control over properties belonging to different individuals and entities through a variety of unlawful methods. These methods include the use of forged Board Resolutions, fabricated agreements for sale containing forged signatures, fabricated deeds and other documents, manipulation of land records, institution of civil proceedings on false or fabricated claims, denial of the lawful entitlements of landowners, and the use of threats and physical force against persons seeking their legitimate rights,” said an ED official. 

Ahead of the State Assembly election, the agency has conducted a raid at Mr. Ganguly’s place in regard to the same case in March. They also questioned the MLA the next day.

Mr. Kumar was a TMC MLA from the Rasbehari constituency in Kolkata and also served as the mayor-in-council in the Kolkata Municipal Corporation. However, he lost to the BJP Minister Swapan Dasgupta in the latest election in May. 

Tuesday’s development comes only a week after the West Bengal police also arrested Mr. Kumar’s other close associate, Ashok Das, from Kolkata’s Rasbehari Avenue, for allegedly forging documents, extorting and cheating, and issuing threats to take control of a city club.

Hundreds of local-level Trinamool leaders and former and sitting MLAs, including Debo Prasad Bag, Sabyasachi Dutta, and Tapan Chattopadhyay, have been arrested after the change of regime in West Bengal on allegations of corruption and extortion.

The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) on Tuesday (August 25, 2026) conducted a second search at the Karnataka Public Service Commission (KPSC) office in Bengaluru as part of its investigation into alleged irregularities in the recruitment examination for veterinary officers.

A CID team investigating the case, led by SP Raghavendra Hegde, searched the KPSC office and examined recruitment-related documents and other records.

The CID also issued notices to all 329 candidates who appeared for the examination, directing them to appear for questioning before the investigating officers.

658 OMR sheets seized

Investigators have already seized 658 OMR carbon sheets from the candidates and sent them to the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) for examination. The sheets are being compared with the original OMR sheets to detect any discrepancies or evidence of manipulation.

The CID has intensified the probe based on information and statements reportedly obtained by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) during its separate investigation into the alleged recruitment irregularities.

The ED had earlier conducted searches at more than 21 locations in connection with the alleged large-scale recruitment and financial irregularities. The agency had also searched the residence of IAS officer Gyanendra Kumar Gangwar, who was entrusted with overseeing the examination.

The ED officials conducted the search at the IAS officer’s residence in his absence and later pasted a notice on the door directing him to appear for questioning.

The CID is now examining the material gathered by the ED and the statements recorded during its investigation to establish the extent of the alleged malpractice and identify those involved in the recruitment process.

Continuing its probe into the alleged pay-off case involving Cochin Minerals and Rutile Ltd. (CMRL) and former Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s daughter T. Veena, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has started questioning the CMRL Chief Financial Officer K.S. Suresh Kumar.

Mr. Kumar appeared at the ED Kochi zonal office on Monday (June 22, 2026) around 11 a.m. He had deposed before the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) and had reportedly shared critical information. SFIO under the Ministry of Corporate Affairs had allegedly uncovered fictitious cash expenses of ₹182 crore generated by the CMRL over a span of 15 years, which was reportedly used to bribe various persons.

The financial manager and a senior clerk of CMRL are also likely to appear before the ED on Tuesday (June 23, 2026). The investigative agency has issued a fresh notice to Ms. Veena to appear for another round of questioning on June 29. The fresh summons comes close on the heels of the ED officials inspecting Ms. Veena’s bank lockers in Thiruvananthapuram on June 19. The ED seems determined to amass maximum possible evidence from the related parties before her questioning.

Initially, she was questioned for about eight hours on June 17, 2026. A day before, the ED had questioned Shiby S. Kartha, daughter of Mr. Sasidharan Kartha and director of an associated firm of the CMRL; Saran S. Kartha, joint managing director of the CMRL; and Jaya S. Kartha, wife of Mr. Sasidharan Kartha, in her capacity as director of the EICIPL.

The ED probe pertains to allegations that CMRL made payments totalling ₹2.78 crore to the now-defucnt Exalogic Solutions Pvt. Ltd., owned by Ms. Veena, without receiving any services in return. The ED is also reportedly probing loans worth ₹50 lakh extended to Exalogic by Empower India Capital Investments Pvt. Ltd. (EICIPL) operated by Mr. Sasidharan Kartha, despite her company failing to make timely repayments.

The ED case stems from a prosecution complaint filed by the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) before a court in Ernakulam in April 2025. According to the the SFIO, the investigation arm of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Exalogic and CMRL allegedly entered into an arrangement under which payments were made without any corresponding services being rendered.

The Enforcement Directorate on Monday (May 18, 2026) conducted searches at premises linked to AAP Delhi politician Deepak Singla and some others in an alleged bank loan fraud-linked money laundering case, officials said.

They said the raids are being undertaken at locations in Delhi and Goa.

Mr. Singla has been a candidate for the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) from the Vishwas Nagar Assembly seat. He was raided by the ED in 2024 too as part of an investigation.

The politician could not be contacted immediately.

In a separate case, the central probe agency conducted searches in a case in which certain individuals were allegedly duped to the tune of ₹180 crore through an investment fraud.

The premises of a person identified as Ram Singh of Babaji Finance Group in Delhi’s Subhash Nagar have been raided as part of the investigation, officials said.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday (May 14, 2026) arrested Kolkata Police Deputy Commissioner Shantanu Sinha Biswas. The arrests came after several hours of questioning by the ED in connection with allegations of land grabbing and a money laundering case linked to Biswajit Poddar, alias Sona Pappu.

He is likely to be produced in court on Friday (May 15, 2026).

ED had summoned former Kalighat Officer-in-Charge Shantanu Sinha Biswas several times for questioning in the Sona Pappu case. But the Kolkata Police official had avoided appearing several times. The ED has also sought a report from Director Security of the West Bengal Police on the status of the Kolkata Police official as to where he has been deputed.

ED had also issued a lookout notice against Shantanu Sinha Biswas for repeatedly not responding to summons. The investigating officers wanted to ensure that he did not leave the country. According to sources, some financial transactions of Kolkata Police Officials were found with Sona Pappu and his close associates. He was also linked to the documents obtained from businessman Joy Kamdar, who was arrested on charges of financial transactions by the ED.

The official was perceived to be too close to the previous Trinamool Congress government and Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari had earlier made several allegations against the police officials in public.

This is the second high-profile arrest by ED after the change of regime in West Bengal. On May 11, the ED had arrested former Trinamool Congress Minister Sujit Bose in connection with a municipal recruitment scam. The allegation against the former Minister comes on the charges that Mr. Bose had illegally recommended 150 candidates for different posts under the South Dum Dum Municipality in lieu of pecuniary benefits.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrested three accused in a case alleging that DJW Electric Power Projects Private Limited fraudulently took loans from various entities.

Those arrested have been identified as two company directors, Dandamudi Venkateswara Rao and D. Shanthi Kiran, and Mr. Rao’s brother D. Avanindra Kumar. The ED had secured their custody till May 12 from the court concerned.

The agency has alleged laundering of about ₹284 crore in the matter. Its investigation is based on a case registered by the police in Gurugram, against DJW Electric Power Project. The total loan amount involved in the alleged fraud was about ₹58 crore.

RTGS misused

“…while the accounting records of DJW showed that loans were being repaid to the original lenders, the ED investigation revealed that the banking RTGS system was misused. The RTGS mandate forms fraudulently mentioned the names of actual lenders but provided bank details of Kolkata-based shell entities,” the ED alleged.

As claimed, the loan repayment funds were siphoned off to shell companies including Nexus International, Bhavtarini Sales Pvt. Ltd., and Gabel Trading Co.

The agency said further probe under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) led to registration of another case and a parallel money laundering investigation involving Sravanthi Energy Private Limited (SEPL), also controlled by Mr. Rao.

“It was unearthed that SEPL had been fraudulently paying approximately ₹75 lakh per month as ‘consultancy fees’ to a shell entity named Verset Technologies Pvt. Ltd., which had no office or employees and was registered in the name of D.V. Rao’s father-in-law. Through this sham arrangement, ₹89.36 crore was illicitly diverted,” it said.

The ED alleged that simultaneously, SEPL booked bogus purchases of over ₹139 crore through fake invoices from more than 100 shell entities without any supply of goods or services. “These payments were received back in cash by D.V. Rao and his family. The total proceeds of crime identified against D.V. Rao and his family in the SEPL case is about ₹228 crore,” said the agency.

It alleged that Mr. Rao had earlier defaulted on huge amounts to banks, owing to which the SEPL account turned into non-performing asset.

“This compelled the banks to resort to a compulsory One-Time Settlement (OTS), resulting in a loss of more than ₹1,500 crore to the banking system…D.V. Rao was systematically siphoning off funds from the company for his personal enrichment. In this manner, he has defrauded not only the banks but also the investors in the company. Notably, several Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) banks hold minority shares in the company,” the ED said.

Earlier, during searches, the ED had seized gold and diamond jewellery valued at about ₹5 crore and multiple luxury vehicles. It has also provisionally attached assets worth close to ₹24 crore.

The Enforcement Directorate on Saturday (May 9, 2026) arrested Sanjeev Arora, the Punjab Industries Minister in the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Government in Punjab, in an alleged money-laundering case involving him and associated entities, triggering a political slugfest as rival parties traded barbs.

Mr. Arora was taken into custody after the Enforcement Directorate raided the Minister’s and his associates’ premises on suspicion of large-scale money laundering, said an official. The searches are being conducted in a case registered under the provisions of Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.

The ED conducted the searches at five locations across Delhi, Gurugram and Chandigarh, including the official residence of Mr. Arora. The raids were also conducted at office premises associated with Hampton Sky Realty Limited and other linked entities.

According to an official, the ED had allegedly detected a case of large-scale money laundering done by Mr. Arora through his company in fake Goods and Services Tax (GST) purchases of mobile phones of more than ₹100 crores and subsequent exports to round trip illegitimate funds from Dubai to India.

In April this year, the ED raided Mr. Arora and his associates under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA). Mr. Arora was also raided by the ED in 2024 in a money-laundering case linked to the alleged misuse of industrial land for residential projects. Mr. Arora was then a Rajya Sabha MP.

Reacting to the raids, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said, “The ED had raided Sanjeev Arora’s residence three times within a year and twice within a month without recovering anything.” Mr. Mann questioned why such raids were being carried out only in States where the BJP was not in power.

The opposition parties, however, trained their guns on the AAP, launching a scathing attack on the State Government over its failure to deliver transparent and honest governance.

Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Bikram Singh Majithia alleged that there was a land, power, housing and property developer nexus operating under political patronage in Punjab, and a time-bound probe should be undertaken into the matter.

“The arrest of Sanjeev Arora had exposed the seriousness of the financial irregularities network functioning in the State. Every individual linked to alleged GST fraud, illegal Dubai money transfers and suspicious land dealings must face strict investigation,” he said.

Punjab BJP president Sunil Jakhar accused the Punjab Government of shielding corruption and defending individuals involved in alleged land-related scams currently under investigation by the ED.

“The ED raids on ministers are not aimed at targeting private individuals but are actions against those accused of grabbing farmers’ land through fraudulent means. He claimed the investigations are focused on cases where land acquired from farmers at extremely low prices was later used to generate massive profits through illegal real-estate activities,” he said.

Taking a dig at the Chief Minister, Mr. Jakhar said that if the government were truly honest, it would have acted against the alleged corruption itself instead of defending those involved. “After the slogan of ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas,’ the time for ‘Sabka Hisaab’ (accountability for all) has now arrived,” he added.

Leader of Opposition in the Punjab Assembly, Congress party’s Partap Singh Bajwa, said that Mr. Arora’s arrest has once again exposed the serious corruption allegations surrounding the AAP.

“This is not an isolated case, as several senior AAP leaders and individuals close to the Punjab Government have repeatedly come under the scanner of investigative agencies. The people of Punjab were promised honest and transparent governance, but instead, they were allegedly looted by leaders of the ruling AAP party. Every time corruption allegations emerge, AAP leaders conveniently hide behind the excuse of ‘political vendetta’ instead of answering direct questions,” he said.

Former Yes Bank CEO Rana Kapoor is being questioned today as a part of money laundering investigations against Anil Ambani group companies at the Enforcement Diretorate headquaters, an ED official said.

The statement is being recorded under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), they said.

The probe is related to the period between 2017-2019 when Yes Bank allegedly invested ₹2,965 crore in Reliance Home Finance Ltd (RHFL) instruments and ₹2,045 crore in Reliance Commercial Finance Limited (RCFL) instruments. By December 2019, these had become non-performing investments, the agency claimed.

The outstanding was ₹1,353.5 crore for RHFL and ₹1,984 crore for RCFL, and the probe found that the two companies received public funds worth more than ₹11,000 crore, according to the ED.

“Before Yes Bank invested this money in Reliance Anil Ambani group companies, Yes Bank had received huge funds from erstwhile Reliance Nippon Mutual Fund.

“As per SEBI regulations, Reliance Nippon Mutual Fund could not invest/divert funds directly in Anil Ambani group finance companies due to conflict-of-interest rules,” the ED said.

Therefore, public money in mutual fund schemes was routed indirectly by them and the path ran through the Yes Bank’s exposures, the agency claimed.

(With PTI inputs)

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has decided to bring to a conclusion cases registered under the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act (FERA), which was repealed by the country more than 25 years ago in 1998.

The criminal sections-loaded FERA of 1973 was replaced in June 2000 by the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) of 1999, a civil law.

Officials told PTI that the federal probe agency has begun identifying about 400-500 cases in which adjudication proceedings pending before various courts under the FERA can be fast-tracked for closure, as the individuals under prosecution have either died or gone untraceable, or the assets under question have been liquidated or have ceased to exist.

The officials said the aim is to complete the exercise in the next few months — the first quarter of 2026 being the immediate deadline.

The last show cause notices under the FERA were issued in May 2002.

ED Director Rahul Navin, during a recent conference of the agency officers held in Gujarat, had also reiterated his directions for “fast-tracking” of old FERA adjudication cases as he emphasised the “completion of lifecycle” of all pending cases in various forums.

The officials said that the closure of FERA cases over the “next few months” will end the legacy of litigation and redundancy going on for more than two decades.

They said that the FERA had an avatar even before 1973 which was first brought in 1947.

The Central Government had, in 1956, established the ED as an “enforcement unit” under the Department of Economic Affairs (DEA) to handle violations and cases registered under the FERA of 1947. This law was then repealed and replaced by the FERA of 1973 and subsequently by the FEMA law of 1999 as part of the economic liberalisation policy of India.

The FEMA focuses more on the management of foreign exchange rather than its regulation and control (like in FERA).

Most of the violations under the FEMA are treated as civil offences as compared to criminal proceedings under the FERA.