The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday conducted searches at 11 premises across Delhi, Haryana and Goa in connection with an alleged money laundering case involving a wrongful loss of about ₹155.21 crore to Oriental Bank of Commerce and consortium banks. The action forms part of an ongoing investigation into alleged financial irregularities linked to Mahesh Timber Pvt Ltd and associated persons.
According to officials, the ED’s Chandigarh Zonal Office carried out the search operation at locations linked to Ashok Mittal, Sourabh Dhingra, Bharat Bhushan Mittal, Raman Singhal and others. The premises searched were reportedly spread across Haryana’s Karnal, Delhi and Goa, as the agency widened its probe into the alleged diversion and misuse of bank funds.
The case stems from allegations that Mahesh Timber Pvt Ltd, in connivance with others, fraudulently enhanced foreign letter of credit limits and diverted funds to Singapore-based related entities. Investigators have alleged that the transactions were carried out through unauthorised amendments in the SWIFT system without corresponding entries in the banking software, resulting in major losses to the lender.
The alleged fraud is said to have involved the manipulation of banking facilities originally extended at a much lower level. Reports indicate that the credit facilities were raised from ₹21 crore to ₹195 crore, after which the funds were allegedly diverted under the guise of fake imports and related transactions. The ED has claimed that the overall wrongful loss to the bank amounted to around ₹155.21 crore, while the accused entities allegedly gained unlawfully.
The money laundering probe follows earlier criminal proceedings initiated by law enforcement agencies. The ED case is understood to have been built on the basis of a CBI FIR that included charges of criminal conspiracy, cheating, forgery and misconduct involving public servants. The agency is examining whether proceeds of crime were layered and moved through multiple entities and jurisdictions to conceal their origin.
In earlier action linked to the same case, the ED had also arrested a Karnal-based businessman connected to Mahesh Timber Pvt Ltd. The agency had alleged that he was non-cooperative during questioning and had withheld relevant information. Investigators said he played a key role in arranging the credit limit enhancements and in the movement of funds to related overseas entities.
The latest searches are aimed at collecting documentary and digital evidence that may help establish the trail of funds, the role of the accused persons and the extent of alleged laundering. Officials have not yet announced any fresh arrests or seizures tied to the Tuesday operation, but the searches are expected to support further questioning and evidence analysis.
The case has drawn attention because of the scale of the alleged bank loss and the spread of the search operation across three states. With financial fraud cases increasingly overlapping with cross-border transactions and related-party structures, investigators are focusing on whether the funds were routed through complex corporate arrangements to disguise the actual beneficiaries.
The ED has continued to expand its scrutiny of suspected financial crime networks through document searches, digital evidence collection and questioning of persons linked to the entities under investigation. In this case, the agency is expected to examine banking records, corporate filings, email communications and transaction trails to determine whether the alleged fraud and laundering were carried out in a coordinated manner.
As the investigation proceeds, the case is likely to remain under close watch because it involves a significant bank-related loss, multiple accused persons and alleged overseas fund movements. Further developments may depend on the outcome of forensic review, statements recorded during the probe and any additional material recovered from the searched premises.