The Enforcement Directorate (ED)'s Kolkata Zonal Office has filed a supplementary charge sheet against Kuldeep Rai Sharma, former Member of Parliament from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and 13 additional persons and entities before the Special PMLA Court in Port Blair in connection with the Andaman and Nicobar State Co-operative Bank (ANSCBL) fraud. The development was confirmed by the central probe agency in a statement on Wednesday, 11 November 2026, pushing the total count of accused in the case to 52.

Who Has Been Newly Named

The 13 freshly added accused include Jayanta Bala, J. Suresh Chandran — described as an empanelled property valuer of ANSCBL — John Robert Babu, Anil Kumar, Md. Ali, P. Abhilash, and Kiran Lal N. H., along with their associated companies. The former MP Kuldeep Rai Sharma remains the central accused in the case, which was originally triggered by an FIR registered by the Crime and Economic Offences Police Station of the Andaman and Nicobar Police.

Assets Worth ₹121.35 Crore Attached

Simultaneously with the charge sheet filing, the ED issued a provisional attachment order under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, covering 35 immovable properties and five movable properties collectively valued at approximately ₹121.35 crore. The attached assets include land parcels, a hotel, two semi-submarine tourist vessels, and bank balances held across three bank accounts. According to the agency, most of these assets were either purchased with diverted loan money or fraudulently pledged with the bank at heavily inflated valuations to secure further loans.

How the Fraud Was Engineered

Investigators found that Sharma, then serving as Vice-Chairman of ANSCBL, along with bank officials and close associates, orchestrated a scheme involving 23 shell companies with no genuine business operations. These entities were floated using dummy directors drawn from aides and other proxies. Loans totalling approximately ₹301.50 crore were sanctioned to 21 of these companies, of which around ₹271 crore across 18 companies have turned into non-performing assets (NPAs). The loan funds were withdrawn in cash or routed through multiple bank accounts and used to acquire land and other assets registered in the names of family members and associates.

Beyond the shell company network, large loans were also reportedly sanctioned illegally to companies belonging to the family members of Sharma himself — funds that were similarly siphoned and not repaid. The total proceeds of crime identified so far in the case exceed ₹500 crore.

Bribery and Inflated Valuations

According to the ED, senior bank officials — including Sharma and the late Managing Director K. Murugan (since deceased) — allegedly accepted bribes of approximately 5% of each loan amount. In several instances, loans were sanctioned in excess of requirements, with the surplus being pocketed in cash or siphoned through shell entities. The agency also found systematic collusion with an empanelled bank valuer, who reportedly certified properties bought for around ₹1 crore as being worth ₹10 crore or more in official loan files — artificially inflating collateral to facilitate the fraudulent disbursements.

What Comes Next

With the charge sheet now before the Special PMLA Court in Port Blair and provisional attachments totalling ₹121.35 crore in place, the case moves closer to trial. The ED has not indicated whether further supplementary charge sheets are anticipated, but given the complexity of the shell company network and the scale of proceeds — exceeding ₹500 crore — investigators are likely to continue tracing assets. The outcome will be closely watched as a test of PMLA enforcement in Union Territory jurisdictions.