ED searches 14 Tricity premises in Rs 645-crore public funds embezzlement case; Rs 4.3 crore cash seized
Ravi Jakhu
Chandigarh, October 2, 2026: The Enforcement Directorate (ED), Chandigarh Zonal Office-II, conducted searches at 14 premises across the Tricity — Chandigarh, Mohali and Panchkula — in connection with a money laundering investigation into the alleged embezzlement of ₹645 crore in public funds belonging to the Haryana Government, Chandigarh Municipal Corporation and other government accounts.
The searches resulted in the seizure of ₹4.30 crore in cash and freezing of bank balances worth approximately ₹22 crore held in the accounts of jewellers and their associated entities, according to the ED. The agency also recovered and seized various incriminating documents and digital evidence.
The ED said the investigation was initiated on the basis of an FIR registered by Haryana Police in February 2026 concerning discrepancies in the balances of bank accounts of the Development and Panchayat Department, Haryana, maintained with IDFC First Bank and AU Small Finance Bank.
The searches covered jewellers and associated entities, including Malik Jewellers, KLG Jewels and its associate entities, M.B. Gold Traders, Sham Jewellers and Sunder Jewellers. The premises of Gourav Kansal, whom the agency alleges acted as a middleman in routing and layering the proceeds of crime, were also searched.
According to the ED, the allegedly embezzled public funds were routed through the bank accounts of various jewellers and projected as business transactions to conceal their origin.
The agency alleged that intermediate shell entities floated by Ribhav Rishi, whom it has described as the mastermind in the case, transferred approximately ₹58 crore to Malik Jewellers, ₹26 crore to the KLG Group, ₹5 crore to M.B. Gold Traders, ₹3.66 crore to Sham Jewellers and ₹3.15 crore to Sunder Jewellers.
The ED further alleged that the jewellers were involved in laundering proceeds generated from bank accounts of various departments of the Haryana Government and the Chandigarh administration, which allegedly reached accused IAS officers and other government servants linked to the IDFC First Bank fraud.
The agency said the CBI has filed a third chargesheet before the Special Court in Panchkula, naming six Haryana-cadre IAS officers and other government servants in connection with the bank fraud case.
Earlier in the case, the ED had arrested four accused persons and attached, seized or frozen movable and immovable assets worth approximately ₹211 crore, it said.
The ED has also filed a prosecution complaint against 14 accused persons before the Special Court (PMLA), Panchkula. Further investigation is underway.