BHUBANESWAR, Aug 11: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has frozen 182 bank accounts and confiscated over ₹1 crore in cash, along with six luxury cars, during a raid linked to a ₹2,000 crore multi-state chit fund scam, according to officials.

On August 5, the ED’s Bhubaneswar Zonal Office carried out searches at five locations associated with Wellfare Buildings and Estates Pvt Ltd (WBEPL) and its directors in Visakhapatnam and Hyderabad under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA).

The operations targeted properties belonging to former Andhra Pradesh MLA Malla Vilaya Prasad, Varaha Ramakrishna Satya Sinivasa Rao Alla, and others involved in the case.

During the raids, authorities recovered ₹1.01 crore in cash along with various movable and immovable assets and incriminating documents related to WBEPL and its leadership.

Additionally, the ED has issued orders to freeze 182 bank accounts and confiscate six high-end vehicles owned by WBEPL and its directors.

The investigation was initiated by the ED’s Bhubaneswar office following multiple FIRs and charges filed by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Odisha Police, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), and the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) of Jharkhand.

Investigators discovered that the directors of WBEPL had unlawfully collected over ₹2,000 crore from numerous unsuspecting investors across several states, including Odisha, West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, and Andhra Pradesh, under the guise of offering land in Visakhapatnam.

The company subsequently ceased its operations at branch offices nationwide, defrauding investors in the process.

Furthermore, the directors were found to have misappropriated investor funds for personal use, falsified financial records to hide deposits, and engaged in fraudulent land transactions to obscure true values and avoid legal responsibilities.