New Delhi, Sept. 23 -- The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday carried out searches at 16 places allegedly linked to McNally Bharat Engineering Company Limited (MBECL) and persons and entities connected with its acquisition.

ED's Kolkata zonal office is conducting the search operation under the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (FEMA), covering the premises of those allegedly associated with middleman Sanjay Pasari, operating mainly in the coal and mining sector, his brother Rajiv Pasari, Ravi Todi and Sudhir Satnaliwala, as well as BTL EPC Ltd., Mandaal Vyapaar Pvt Ltd, Trolex (India) Pvt Ltd, CEMFIL Enterprises Ltd and Mahabaleswar Merchants Pvt Ltd.

Officials said the investigation concerns suspected "FEMA contraventions an...