MUMBAI, Oct. 1 -- The Enforcement Directorate (ED) carried out multi-state searches at eight locations, including Mumbai, as part of its money-laundering probe related to an alleged Rs.200 crore bogus Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) donation racket. Premises of market operators, trustees and middle men were covered in the case related to 'Doctor' Dharmendra Kumar Chandradev Singh and others, which have revealed the existence of a "bogus CSR racket running into hundreds of crores," said agency officials. The probe is based on an alleged cheating case registered on July 12 by the Juhu police station against Kumar for offences under the Maharashtra Medical Practitioners Act, the National Medical Commission Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. The searches covered five locations in Maharashtra, and one each in West Bengal, Gujarat and Delhi. The probes revealed that Singh, despite not possessing any recognised medical qualification or registration with the Medical Council of India and having studied only up to Class XII, allegedly represented himself as a doctor and used the honorific 'Doctor' for nearly 30 years. Capitalising on the alleged dubious representation and credentials he set up and ran a network of charitable trusts and entities engaged purportedly in healthcare-focused CSR activities, and allegedly mobilised a substantial amount of CSR funds from public sector units (PSUs) and private corporates. Officials said, projects were pitched to the PSUs in the name of legitimate CSR initiatives, but they were allegedly either only partially executed or not executed in proportion to the funds received. Vendor bills were allegedly inflated, and the excess amounts siphoned off through bogus/ shell entities. Kickbacks or commissions were allegedly paid to middlemen and brokers who facilitated the procurement of CSR funds and brokered the transactions, officials said. On the other hand, cash received in the form of CSR contributions from private entities were allegedly recycled or returned substantially in cash to the contributing entities, after retaining a small commission. "CSR funds of around Rs.200 crore are understood to have been routed through this mechanism, indicating CSR diversion/recycling arrangement on a substantial scale," an ED officer said....