The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrested Partha Sarathi Biswal, the managing director of Bhubaneswar-based Biswal Tradelink, in connection with an alleged fake bank guarantee scam. The arrest was made under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) on Friday, following searches at the company’s premises in Bhubaneswar and at an associate entity in Kolkata. A local court has remanded Biswal to ED custody until August 6.
The money laundering case is linked to a November 2024 FIR filed by the Delhi Police Economic Offences Wing (EOW). According to ED sources, Biswal Tradelink was engaged in issuing fraudulent bank guarantees for a commission of 8%. One of the key allegations involves a fake bank guarantee worth ₹68.2 crore, submitted to the Solar Energy Corporation of India Limited (SECI) on behalf of Reliance NU BESS Limited — a subsidiary of Reliance Power, formerly known as Maharashtra Energy Generation Limited.
ED officials reportedly recovered documents related to this transaction during previous raids on Anil Ambani-led Reliance Group offices in Mumbai. A Reliance Group spokesperson stated that the company had been a “victim of fraud, forgery, and conspiracy” and had lodged a complaint with the Delhi Police EOW in October 2024. The spokesperson added that Reliance made appropriate disclosures to the stock exchanges on November 7, 2024.
Investigators also uncovered several suspicious financial dealings with multiple companies and found that Biswal Tradelink operated at least seven undisclosed bank accounts. These accounts handled transactions grossly disproportionate to the company’s declared turnover. To lend false credibility, the company allegedly used a deceptive email domain — s-bi.co.in — resembling sbi.co.in, the official domain of the State Bank of India. This domain was used to send forged communications to SECI, impersonating India’s largest lender.
The ED has contacted the National Internet Exchange of India (NIXI) for domain registration records of the fake email ID. Further findings suggest the Odisha-based company generated fake bills for commissions and engaged in transactions worth crores through undisclosed accounts. The company’s registered address turned out to be a residential property owned by a relative, with no official records found on-site.
ED sources also revealed that key individuals in the company were using encrypted messaging on the Telegram app with disappearing messages enabled — an apparent effort to avoid detection and erase digital communication trails. The investigation is ongoing and may uncover further links to other firms and financial entities.
