The Enforcement Directorate on Tuesday said it has attached immovable properties and bank deposits worth Rs 3.68 crore as part of a money laundering probe linked to alleged defrauding of the AIIMS opthalmology centre in Delhi during the spread of COVID-19.

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The money laundering case stems from a Delhi Police FIR of September, 2021 filed against an employee of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Bijender Kumar, and others.

It was alleged in the police complaint that during the coronavirus pandemic spread, payments were released to a company called Sneh Enterprises without supply of 'linen & other store items' to the Dr Rajendra Prasad Centre (RPC) for opthalmic sciences, AIIMS.

Kumar was working as junior administrative assistant in this opthalmology unit of the AIIMS and he, with "assistance" of a program assistant (contractual) to Dr. Atul Kumar (the then chief of RPC, AIIMS) raised "fake" indents and created "fake" supply order in favour of Sneh Enterprises, the ED alleged in a statement.

Kumar created "fake" delivery challans, including inspection note and got an amount of Rs 13.43 crore released to Sneh Enterprises in lieu of illegal gratification and without delivery of any goods. He invested a part of this fund in purchase of two immovable properties in Delhi for Rs 70 lakh, it said.

The owner of Sneh Enterprises, Sneh Rani, it said, transferred the amounts "fraudulently" received from AIIMS to her other bank accounts and made further payments to various parties, the agency said.

A provisional order for attachment of two immovable properties and Rs 2.98 crore worth bank deposits of Sneh Enterprises and Sneh Rani has been issued under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), it said.