The searches were part of its money-laundering probe into an alleged nationwide fraudulent toll collection racket, confirmed senior ED officials here on Thursday. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has seized approximately ₹ 1.03 crore in cash and frozen eight bank lockers during searches at 14 premises across six states, at least.
Besides the cash seizure and freezing of bank lockers, ED officials recovered and seized a large volume of incriminating material, including books of account, financial records, bank-related documents and digital devices. Investigators have specifically recovered material relating to toll-wise collection and reporting, non-FASTag collections, bank accounts and financial transactions, suspicious communications and the operation and deployment of unauthorised software applications.
The agency said the material is likely to provide further leads into the flow of funds generated through the alleged illegal toll collection mechanism.
The agency is now examining the wider financial trail, including bank transactions and the movement of funds allegedly generated through the unauthorised toll collections. The seizure of books of account and financial records during Wednesday’s searches is expected to help investigators establish the relationship between toll-wise collections, their reporting and subsequent movement of money.
