The Enforcement Directorate conducted searches at the residence of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and former Delhi Health Minister Saurabh Bhardwaj on Tuesday in a money laundering case linked to irregularities in hospital construction.
ED officials have been conducting simultaneous searches at 13 locations across Delhi on Tuesday morning.
So far, the ED has not revealed the details of assets seized or clarified the exact nature of the suspected financial irregularities.
The search operation at Bharadwaj's residence began in the morning and was still underway at the time of reporting.
ACB First Flagged Hospital Scam
The Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) was the first to flag the alleged scam. The ACB investigation revealed that in 2018-19, as many as 24 hospital projects were sanctioned in Delhi at an estimated cost of around Rs 5,500 crore.
These included 11 greenfield projects and 13 brownfield projects. However, despite approvals, the projects were subjected to unwarranted delays while costs escalated significantly, raising strong suspicions of corruption and financial misconduct.
The ICU hospital was expected to be finished in six months, but after three years, the project was still not completed. Even though Rs 800 crore was spent, only 50 per cent of the work has been completed as of now.
