NEW DELHI: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday carried out searches at multiple locations, including Jammu and Kashmir, as part of a money laundering investigation into alleged fraudulent toll collection at National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) plazas, officials said.
Around 14 premises in Jammu and Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Delhi-NCR and West Bengal were covered during the searches.
The action was taken under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) after the central agency took cognisance of two police FIRs related to the alleged use of unauthorised software applications for generating toll receipts and diverting collections outside the official accounting mechanism.
ED officials said forensic examination and NHAI records had corroborated the deployment of such software.
The searches are aimed at recovering digital and documentary evidence, identifying the alleged beneficiaries and tracing proceeds of crime linked to the suspected diversion of toll collections.
The inclusion of Jammu and Kashmir among the locations searched brings the Union Territory directly within the ambit of the ED’s nationwide probe into the alleged toll collection fraud.
