The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has conducted search operations at seven locations across Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru and seized cash and assets worth Rs 1.5 crore in a money laundering probe linked to an online gaming platform and a bank.

The case involves a former Punjab and Sind Bank officer, his associates and key individuals connected to the online gaming platform GOA247.live.

The searches, carried out under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, resulted in the seizure of Rs 39 lakh in cash, multiple mobile phones, SIM cards used in gaming activities and significant digital and documentary evidence.

The ED also froze Rs 1.5 crore across 48 mule bank accounts allegedly used by the platform to move illegal funds.

The investigation stems from a First Information Report (FIR) filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Anti-Corruption Branch, Delhi.

The FIR names Bedanshu Shekhar Mishra, a former bank officer at Punjab and Sind Bank’s Khalsa College branch of Delhi University, and others under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, Prevention of Corruption Act and IT Act.

Mishra is accused of misusing his position to fraudulently access and liquidate 46 fixed deposit accounts belonging mainly to Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Khalsa College. The total defrauded amount stands at Rs 52.99 crore.

According to the ED, nearly Rs 24 crore of the misappropriated funds were funnelled into online gaming platforms like GOA247.live via a web of mule accounts to conceal the money trail.

Earlier, the ED had attached assets worth Rs 2.56 crore belonging to Mishra and his associates under Section 5 of the PMLA. Further investigations were ongoing to trace the remaining proceeds and uncover links between financial fraud and online betting operations.