Mumbai, September 30, 2026: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday conducted searches at eight locations across Maharashtra, West Bengal, Gujarat and the Delhi-NCR region as part of its money laundering investigation into an alleged bogus corporate social responsibility (CSR) donation racket through which around Rs 200 crore is suspected to have been routed, officials said.
The searches, carried out by the agency’s Mumbai zone, covered five locations in Maharashtra and one each in West Bengal, Gujarat and the Delhi-NCR region. Premises linked to market operators, trustees, intermediaries and alleged middlemen involved in the collection and routing of CSR funds were searched in the case involving Dharmendra Kumar Chandradev Singh and others.
ED Probes CSR Fund Network
According to the ED, the searches have prima facie revealed a network allegedly involving charitable trusts, trustees, brokers, intermediaries and equipment suppliers, which was used to mobilise CSR contributions from public sector undertakings (PSUs) and private companies and subsequently divert or recycle a substantial portion of the funds.
The ED initiated its investigation under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) on the basis of an FIR registered at Juhu Police Station in July. The FIR names Singh in connection with alleged offences under the Maharashtra Medical Practitioners Act, 1961, the National Medical Commission Act, 2019 and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, including offences corresponding to cheating, forgery and use of forged documents that are stated to be scheduled offences under the PMLA.
Singh’s Credentials Under Scanner
According to the ED, its investigation has found that Singh allegedly represented himself as a doctor despite not possessing a recognised medical qualification or registration with a medical council. The agency said Singh had studied up to Class XII and had allegedly used the title “Doctor” for nearly three decades. The agency suspects that the credentials associated with the title were used to establish and operate a network of charitable trusts and other entities ostensibly engaged in healthcare-related CSR activities. These entities allegedly approached PSUs and private companies for CSR contributions by presenting projects as genuine social welfare or healthcare initiatives.
According to the ED, one of the alleged mechanisms under investigation involved obtaining CSR donations through trusts by pitching projects to PSUs as legitimate CSR initiatives. After the funds were received, some of the projects were allegedly only partially implemented or not executed in proportion to the CSR amounts released. The difference between the funds received and the actual expenditure on the stated projects is being examined as part of the money trail.
Vendors, Middlemen Also Under Probe
The role of vendors and equipment suppliers associated with such projects has also come under scrutiny. The ED suspects that invoices raised for goods and services were inflated, with the excess amounts allegedly being siphoned off through bogus or shell entities. Middlemen and brokers who allegedly facilitated CSR donations or arranged transactions are also suspected to have received commissions or kickbacks, officials said.
The agency has also detected another alleged modus operandi involving CSR contributions received from private companies. According to the agency, in these transactions, companies transferred CSR contributions to the trusts through accounted banking channels, after which a substantial portion of the money was allegedly returned in cash to the contributing companies, with the trusts or intermediaries retaining a small percentage as commission.
Agency Tracks Rs 200 Crore Trail
The ED suspects that the arrangement was used to convert accounted corporate funds into unaccounted cash by using the CSR mechanism as a conduit. The agency is examining the companies that allegedly participated in the arrangement, the trusts through which the funds were routed, the persons who facilitated the cash movement and the manner in which the transactions were reflected in the books of accounts.
Officials said approximately Rs 200 crore in CSR funds is understood to have been routed through the mechanisms under investigation. The agency is now examining the complete financial trail to determine how much of the money was allegedly diverted, identify the ultimate beneficiaries and ascertain the extent of alleged proceeds of crime generated through the transactions.
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During Wednesday’s searches, the ED also examined financial and transactional records relating to the trusts, intermediary entities, vendors and other persons associated with the alleged network. The agency analysed bank accounts, books of accounts, invoices, CSR-related documentation and other material recovered during the searches to establish the movement and end-use of the funds.
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