ED initiates money laundering probe in ‘oxygen plant’ scam

On Friday, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) launched a money laundering investigation into the alleged fraud surrounding the establishment of oxygen plants in hospitals during the Covid pandemic, as per police sources on Saturday. The Economic Offences Wing had previously arrested contractor Romil Chheda of Highway Construction Company on November 24, accusing him of causing a loss of Rs 6 crore to the BMC, an official reported.
Chheda secured a contract to install oxygen plants in nine BMC-run hospitals and two jumbo Covid centers, despite purportedly lacking prior experience in such projects, according to the official. The Economic Offences Wing asserts that the fraud occurred between April 2021 and January 2022, involving the municipal workshop in Byculla and the oxygen plants at civic-run V N Desai, Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar, GTB, Kasturba, BYL Nair, R N Cooper, K B Bhabha, KEM, and ATMG Sion hospitals.