Port Blair, Sept. 22: In one of the biggest financial scandals ever to hit the Andaman & Nicobar Islands, the Crime & Economic Offences Police Station, CID Unit has filed a 50,000-page chargesheet in the multi-crore Andaman & Nicobar State Cooperative Bank (ANSCB) fraud case, naming around 100 accused persons and firms — including former MP and ex-Chairman of the Bank, Kuldeep Rai Sharma.
The chargesheet, filed before court on September 19, lays bare a web of corruption involving senior bank officials, shell companies and dummy directors who, investigators allege, siphoned off hundreds of crores meant for cooperative lending. So far, eight accused — including Sharma, Managing Director K. Murugan and Loan Manager K. Kalaivanan — have been arrested and remain in judicial custody.
Shell Firms and Luxury Assets: The probe exposed 23 shell companies floated to fraudulently secure high-value loans, with no genuine business operations. Investigators pegged the fraudulent lending through these entities alone at ₹316.5 crore, much of it allegedly diverted to purchase land, immovable properties and luxury assets in the names of relatives and associates of the accused.
Raids, evidence and witnesses: Over 10 search and seizure operations were carried out across offices, residences and business premises of the accused. Incriminating records — from loan files, registers, property papers and cheques to electronic devices, CDs and mobile phones — were seized. The CID also collected voice samples of key accused, including Sharma, for forensic examination.
A forensic audit of bank accounts, conducted with experts from NABARD, nationalised banks and the Registrar of Cooperative Societies, traced the layering of transactions and beneficiaries. Statements from more than 200 witnesses were recorded, with evidence pointing to gross violations of NABARD and RBI norms, as well as the Bank’s own lending policies.
Organised Conspiracy: The chargesheet alleges a “systematic and organised conspiracy” led by the Bank’s Chairman and Vice-Chairman in connivance with senior officials and business associates. Loans and overdrafts were sanctioned in violation of norms, overlooked deliberately to benefit shell companies and insiders. “This is one of the largest financial frauds in the history of the Islands,” a senior investigator said, adding that the probe has already exposed a “nexus of political influence, bank mismanagement and corporate front companies.”
More to come: The CID has called the current chargesheet an “initial submission”, given the massive volume of seized documents still under scrutiny. More names are expected to surface, with supplementary chargesheets planned as the investigation deepens. Central agencies have also been roped in to trace funds and assets.
For the islanders who trusted the cooperative banking system, the scandal has come as a stunning betrayal — one that has shaken faith in financial governance and placed the spotlight squarely on political accountability.
