Ahmedabad: The Directorate of Enforcement’s Mumbai Zonal Office-I conducted searches at eight locations across Maharashtra, West Bengal, Gujarat and Delhi-NCR on Oct 1 in connection with an alleged bogus CSR donation racket linked to Dharmendra Kumar Chandradev Singh and others. The searches were carried out under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, the agency said in a statement on Monday.During the searches, the ED seized around Rs 21 lakh in cash and recovered various incriminating documents and digital devices.According to the agency, the money laundering probe stems from an FIR registered at Juhu police station against Singh under provisions of the Maharashtra Medical Practitioners Act, 1961, the National Medical Commission Act, 2019, and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023.The ED alleged that Singh, who studied up to Class XII and did not possess a recognised medical qualification or medical council registration, represented himself as a doctor for nearly three decades. Leveraging the credibility associated with the title, he allegedly established and operated a network of charitable trusts and entities engaged in healthcare-focused CSR activities, through which substantial funds were mobilised from public sector undertakings (PSUs) and private companies.According to the agency, the alleged racket involved CSR funds worth about Rs 200 crore. Investigators found that the money was routed through a network of charitable trusts operated by the accused. The ED said nearly 40 PSUs and public sector banks had contributed CSR donations to these trusts.
