LUCKNOW, July 25 -- The Enforcement Directorate (ED)'s Lucknow zonal office on Saturday intensified its crackdown on alleged large-scale bank fraud and money laundering by conducting simultaneous searches at 10 locations across Uttar Pradesh, Delhi and Punjab in connection with an alleged Rs.450-crore loan diversion case involving M/s Santosh Overseas Ltd. (SOL), senior ED officials in Lucknow said while sharing a press note.

The searches, carried out under Section 17 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, covered premises linked to the company's promoters, their family members, associated companies, accommodation entry operators, facilitators and the statutory auditor. The action forms part of an ongoing money launderin...