Panchkula, April 24 -- The Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted searches at 12 locations across Chandigarh, Panchkula, Zirakpur, Dera Bassi and Rajpura in connection with the Rs.145-crore fraud linked to the Panchkula Municipal Corporation (MC) and Kotak Mahindra Bank, officials said on Thursday. During the action, taken up on April 22 under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, officials seized sale-purchase agreements and several incriminating documents related to alleged money laundering. The ED initiated the probe based on an FIR registered by the Panchkula Anti-Corruption Bureau under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Prevention of Corruption Act on March 24. So far, six persons - Pushpinder Singh, deputy vice president of Kotak Mahindra Bank, Dileep Kumar Raghav (former bank relationship manager), Vikas Kaushik (MC's former senior accounts officer), Rajat Dahra, Kapil Kumar and Swati Tomar - have been arrested for "siphoning off civic body's funds". The investigation revealed that Dileep Kumar Raghav, along with Pushpinder Singh and Vikas Kaushik allegedly opened two bank accounts using forged authorisation documents in the civic body's name. Funds from MC accounts were then transferred to unauthorised accounts using fake fund migration letters. The ED also found that unauthorised email IDs were used to obtain transaction approvals, while the official email IDs differed, as confirmed in statements recorded under Section 50 of the PMLA. The diverted funds were allegedly routed through financiers, including Rajat Dahra, Swati Tomar, Kapil Kumar and Vinod Kumar, and later channelled back to Pushpinder Singh and his wife Preeti Thakur. Part of the money was also invested in real estate and transferred to private individuals. The investigation further revealed that fake fixed deposit (FD) receipts were issued to the MC showing investments in 16 FDs worth around Rs.145.03 crore, with a maturity value of approximately Rs.158.02 crore at a bank branch in Sector 11, Panchkula. The issue came to light when the MC sought details of FDs and account balances as the accused allegedly attempted to conceal the fraud by submitting fake bank statements and forged FD documents. Searches were conducted at premises linked to the accused and associated entities, including Sanat Realtors and Sunny Garg, leading to the recovery of evidence, the ED said....