Sikkim: ED raid in Gangtok, attaches Rs 65.46 crore worth of assets in SBS scam case

GANGTOK- The Enforcement Directorate (ED), Gangtok, Sub Zonal Office provisionally attached movable and immovable properties worth Rs 65.46 crore under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.

This action is linked to an alleged misappropriation and money laundering case involving Dorjee Tshering Lepcha, the former General Manager (Operations) of the State Bank of Sikkim (SBS).

The attached properties include four immovable assets—residential buildings and land parcels—located in Deorali, Syari, Ranipool, and Penlong, Sikkim. Additionally, bank balances and fixed deposits totaling approximately Rs 53.41 crore, held in the names of Lepcha and his family members, were also seized.

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The ED’s investigation stems from an FIR initially filed by the CID-PS, Gangtok, under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), 1860, and the Information Technology Act, 2000, which was later transferred to the Sikkim Vigilance Police.

The probe revealed that Lepcha allegedly orchestrated a large-scale fraud by creating a fraudulent bank account in the name of “AE Roads and Bridges Department, Government of Sikkim.”

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He manipulated General Ledger (GL) accounts maintained by SBS for transactions with the Central Bank of India (CBI) and State Bank of India (SBI), fraudulently crediting funds to this account.

These funds were then diverted to personal accounts belonging to Lepcha, his wife, and other family members and associates, constituting the proceeds of crime used to acquire the attached properties.

This development marks a significant step in the ED’s efforts to address financial irregularities at the State Bank of Sikkim, with the attachment announced earlier today.