ED provisionally attaches assets worth ₹121.35 crore in ANSCBL fraud case

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ANSCBL fraud asset attachment

Highlights

On 5 November 2026, ED provisionally attached assets worth ₹121.35 crore under the PMLA in the ANSCBL fraud case.
The investigation found that loans worth approximately ₹301.50 crore were approved through 23 shell companies, of which ₹271 crore turned into NPAs.
ED has so far attached assets worth a total of ₹326.91 crore, including Joye Grand Hotel, semi-submarine vessels and several land properties.

This article was translated from the original. Read the original version by our correspondent here.

Attachment order and investigation findings

According to the Enforcement Directorate, its Kolkata Zonal Office-II issued the provisional attachment order on 5 November 2026 under the PMLA, 2002, covering assets worth approximately ₹121.35 crore. These include plots of land, a hotel, two semi-submarine tourist vessels and balances in three bank accounts.

The investigation began on the basis of an FIR registered at the Crime and Economic Offences Police Station of the Andaman and Nicobar Police. According to the agency, former MP and then vice-chairman of ANSCBL Kuldeep Rai Sharma, along with bank officials and associates, arranged for large loans to be approved through shell companies in violation of banking rules. The loan proceeds were later diverted and not repaid.

ED said the accused set up 23 shell companies with no genuine business activity, appointing associates and other individuals as dummy directors. Loans of approximately ₹301.50 crore were approved for 21 of these companies, while loans worth around ₹271 crore across 18 companies turned into NPAs. According to the agency, the funds were withdrawn in cash or routed through multiple accounts and used to purchase land and other assets in the names of family members and associates.

The agency also alleged that senior bank officials, including then vice-chairman Kuldeep Rai Sharma and the late managing director K Murugan, received approximately 5% of the loan amounts as bribes. In several cases, loans exceeding actual requirements were approved, and a portion of the funds was then recovered in cash or through shell companies.

Asset structure and broader impact of the case

ED found that most of the provisionally attached assets had either allegedly been purchased using diverted loan proceeds or mortgaged at highly inflated values to obtain fraudulent loans from the bank. According to the agency, in several cases, land purchased for around ₹1 crore was valued at ₹10 crore or more in loan files, with assistance from a valuer on the bank's panel.

Of the 35 immovable assets, 15 were acquired in the names of borrowers, accused persons and dummy directors through powers of attorney or sale agreements. They were later mortgaged to ANSCBL at values far above their actual worth to obtain loans. The attached assets include the land and building of Joye Grand Hotel, as well as two semi-submarine tourist vessels imported from Croatia for approximately ₹2.11 crore and registered in the name of M/s Andaman Escapades Pvt. Ltd.

According to ED, the investigation revealed that the vessels were actually purchased for Kuldeep Rai Sharma using an allegedly fraudulent loan obtained through a shell company called M/s Heyday Hospitality Services Pvt. Ltd. The agency has previously arrested Kuldeep Rai Sharma, K. Murugan, K. Kalaivanan and hotelier Sanjay Lal, and filed a prosecution complaint against 39 accused persons and entities before the Special PMLA Court in Port Blair on 14 November 2025.

Earlier, on 10 February 2026, ED had also attached 51 assets valued at ₹205.56 crore, a move confirmed by the Adjudicating Authority on 4 August 2026. With the latest action, the total value of assets attached in the case has reached approximately ₹326.91 crore, while further investigation is ongoing.

Earlier, we reported on the ED filing a supplementary prosecution complaint in the Bengaluru money laundering case and the alleged embezzlement of ₹14.95 crore.

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