The Enforcement Directorate has carried out extensive raids in Pune as part of its probe into a major vehicle loan scam involving the State Bank of India. Over two days, teams searched a dozen locations linked to borrowers, auto dealers and a former SBI official, seizing documents, luxury vehicles and evidence connected to the alleged fraud, officials said on Friday.

According to investigators, several individuals secured expensive car loans from SBI by submitting forged papers and misleading the bank. The ED’s Mumbai unit launched search operations on November 25 and 26 under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), acting on inputs from earlier FIRs filed by the CBI’s Anti-Corruption Branch in Pune and the Shivajinagar Police.

One of the key persons under scrutiny is Amar Kulkarni, who headed SBI’s University Road branch between 2017 and 2019. The agency alleges that Kulkarni, in collusion with auto-loan counsellor Aditya Sethia and certain borrowers, pushed through high-value loan approvals in violation of bank rules. Investigators say he endorsed loan files without carrying out basic due diligence, accepting inflated quotations and fabricated documents that were used to artificially raise the loan amount.

The ED said many of these loans were supported by counterfeit invoices and forged IDs, enabling applicants to buy premium vehicles far beyond their eligibility. During searches, officials identified several properties acquired by the borrowers and seized multiple luxury cars—including BMWs, Volvos, Mercedes-Benz vehicles and a Land Rover—that were allegedly purchased using the fraudulent loans.

The agency is continuing its inquiry into the money trail, suspecting a coordinated conspiracy involving bank insiders, agents and borrowers to siphon off funds by abusing SBI’s vehicle loan system.