Bhubaneswar, Dec 21 (Bureau) The Enforcement Directorate (ED), Bhubaneswar Zonal Office, has frozen over Rs.72 lakhs, recovered shares worth Rs. 10 lakhs, and seized several incriminating documents during raids conducted against the Bharat Integrated Social Welfare Agency (BISWA) under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002. According to ED sources, search operations were conducted on December 18 at four locations in Odisha and Delhi under the provisions of the PMLA, 2002. The ED initiated the investigation based on FIRs registered by the Economic Offenses Wing (EOW) of the Odisha Police and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Investigations revealed that the Bharat Integrated Social Welfare Agency (BISWA), led by Khirod Chandra Mallick, misused funds intended for self-help groups (SHGs) and joint liability firms (JLFs). Mallick also began accepting deposits from the public, a practice prohibited under RBI guidelines. Reports indicate that the group was involved in a bank loan fraud exceeding Rs. 200 crores.
During the raids, 505 suspected benami accounts linked to individuals and SHGs, along with signed and unsigned chequebooks, were recovered. As a result of the search, over Rs. 72 lakhs held in these 505 bank accounts have been frozen. Additionally, shares worth Rs. 10 lakhs, along with several incriminating documents such as sale deeds, chequebooks, and digital devices, have been seized. Khirod Mallick is the brother of senior BJD leader and former Minister Pramila Mallick, a seven-time MLA who held cabinet positions in the Naveen Patnaik government from 2004 to 2011. Pramila Mallick also served as the Speaker of the Odisha Assembly from 2023 to 2024 and as the government chief whip in the Assembly from 2019 to 2022. She currently serves as the Chief Whip of the BJD in the Odisha Legislative Assembly. Further investigations are underway, ED sources said.