ED raids 13 sites in three states over alleged Rs 15 crore fake-tender fraud on Nagpur firm

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has carried out searches in three states following a complaint by a Nagpur business firm. The firm alleges it was cheated of Rs 15 crore in the name of fake government tenders in Tripura. The probe covers a suspended IAS officer, fake government identities, forged tender documents and an alleged network of shell companies.

On November 4, the ED searched 13 locations in Tripura, West Bengal and Maharashtra simultaneously, as part of a money-laundering investigation. The raids covered residential premises linked to the officer, suspected hawala operators and the offices of companies accused of helping move and conceal the proceeds of crime.

The case began with a complaint the Nagpur firm filed with the Tripura Police. The firm says it was cheated of Rs 15 crore between September 2024 and February 2025. The money was allegedly taken as earnest money deposit (EMD) against government tenders said to be for mid-day meal schemes and a power-sector project. Investigators later found that the Tripura government had never issued these tenders. This raised serious questions about the authenticity of the documents and the identity of those who claimed to speak for the government.

The police complaint is said to have named an IAS officer of the Tripura cadre and his alleged associates. After the complaint, the ED's Agartala sub-zonal office registered an ECIR and began proceedings under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). According to the ED's investigation, the suspended IAS officer presented himself as an officer with authority over the tender process and used this alleged official standing to win the confidence of bidders.

The officer is alleged to have introduced the complainant to Utpal Kumar Chowdhury, who was presented as the official handling tender-related payments. Investigators suspect the whole arrangement was designed to make the firm believe a genuine government procurement process was under way. Official-sounding designations, forged tender notices and fake work orders were allegedly used for this.

A key finding concerns an entity called the "Directorate of Higher Education", in whose name the complainant had demand drafts made. The ED allegedly found that this is not a real government department but Chowdhury's private proprietorship. It is alleged that the name was kept deceptively close to that of a genuine government department so that the money would appear to be going into a government account. Investigators suspect this similarity of names was central to the alleged deception.

A joint venture of Krishna Chakraborty, represented by her husband Sudip Paul, has also come under investigation. Its alleged role in raising the money is being examined. According to the ED, some money was returned to the complainant at key moments. It is alleged that these partial refunds were used to cement his trust so that he would keep depositing more.

The agency suspects the money collected was routed through several shell companies so that its source and ownership would be hidden. Some of these companies were allegedly registered in the names of domestic workers and associates, that is, nominal owners were used to hide the real beneficiaries.

According to the ED, proceeds of the fraud were also allegedly used to buy real estate. These are said to include flats in the Shivaji Park area of Mumbai and a residential property bought in the names of the IAS officer's relatives. It is alleged this was done to hide the source and ownership of the money. The agency is also examining suspicious spending on foreign trips and expensive purchases.

In the November 4 searches, the ED seized documents related to alleged hawala transactions, property records, digital devices and material indicating suspected control over companies. It is hoped these will yield more leads on the flow of money and the real beneficiaries.

The ED has also indicated that Chowdhury and some others are already under investigation in a separate case, in which five FIRs have been registered in West Bengal and Tripura. In that case, the alleged racket is accused of cheating several victims of more than Rs 44 crore in the name of similar government tenders. The ED is now examining the seized documents and financial records to trace the alleged proceeds of crime, identify the final beneficiaries and establish the role of the suspects. The investigation is continuing.