ED seizes assets in ₹14.55 crore fake tender fraud by suspended IAS officer

It matters to citizens as it details an alleged fraud involving a suspended IAS officer and associates who allegedly defrauded a company of approximately Rs. 14.55 crore using a fictitious government entity.

Who it concerns: The document concerns Abhishek Chandra (suspended IAS officer, Tripura Cadre), Utpal Kumar Chowdhury, Smt. Krishna Chakraborty, Sudip Paul, M/s SK Sales Corporation (complainant), hawala operators, and the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

What the ED says it did

• ED conducted searches at 13 premises in Tripura, West Bengal, and Maharashtra on 04.11.2026 under Section 17 of PMLA, 2002.
• The investigation arises from an FIR registered at Capital Complex Police Station, West Tripura, against Abhishek Chandra and co-conspirators.
• The complainant, M/s SK Sales Corporation, alleges fraudulent inducement to pay Earnest Money Deposits (EMDs) of approximately Rs. 14.55 crore between September 2024 and February 2025.
• The alleged fraud involved purported tenders for mid-day meal and power sectors in Tripura that were never floated.
• Abhishek Chandra allegedly represented himself as the officer controlling tender processes and introduced Utpal Kumar Chowdhury as the payment processor.
• EMDs were paid via demand drafts to 'Directorate of Higher Education,' identified as a proprietary concern of Utpal Kumar Chowdhury with a name deceptively similar to a genuine government department.
• Funds were allegedly layered through shell entities registered in the names of domestic staff and associates of Utpal Kumar Chowdhury.
• Proceeds were allegedly used for acquiring immovable properties (including flats in a housing project and a residence in Shivaji Park, Mumbai) in the names of Abhishek Chandra's family members, as well as for foreign travel and luxury goods.
• Funds were allegedly routed through a hawala conduit based in Kolkata.
• ED seized voluminous documentary evidence of hawala transactions, high-value property details, and digital devices.
• ED is separately investigating Utpal Kumar Chowdhury under ECIR/AGSZO/03/2025 for defrauding multiple victims of over Rs. 44 crore using the same modus operandi.
• Provisional Attachment Orders No. 01/2026 (dated 22.01.2026) and No. 05/2026 (dated 31.07.2026) have been issued in the related case.

Also in the document

• The offences registered under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, include criminal conspiracy, criminal breach of trust, cheating, cheating by personation, and forgery.
• Partial 'refunds' were allegedly made at critical junctures to sustain the victim's confidence and induce further payments.
• The fictitious entity 'Directorate of Higher Education' was used to structure the collection of funds through a joint venture with Smt. Krishna Chakraborty, represented by her husband Sudip Paul.