ED arrests ex-Andaman MP, 2 others in co-op bank 'fraud' case

New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday arrested former Andaman and Nicobar Islands MP and Congress leader Kuldeep Rai Sharma and two others in a money laundering case linked to an alleged cooperative bank loan "fraud", officials said.

These are the first-ever arrests made by the federal probe agency under the anti-money laundering law in the Union Territory.

Sharma, 57, is a former chairman of the Andaman Nicobar State Cooperative Bank (ANSCB). The two others arrested are K Murugan, the MD of the bank, and K Kalaivanan, the bank's loan officer, they said.

A special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court has sent the three to eight days of ED custody, officials said.

The probe pertains to alleged fraud in the ANSCB.