New Delhi, Sep 17 (PTI) The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday arrested former Andaman and Nicobar Islands MP and Congress leader Kuldeep Rai Sharma and two others in a money laundering case linked to an alleged cooperative bank loan "fraud", officials said.

These are the first-ever arrests made by the federal probe agency under the anti-money laundering law in the Union Territory.

Sharma, 57, is a former chairman of the Andaman Nicobar State Cooperative Bank (ANSCB). The two others arrested are K Murugan, the MD of the bank, and K Kalaivanan, the bank's loan officer, they said.

A special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court has sent the three to eight days of ED custody, officials said.

The probe pertains to alleged fraud in the ANSCB. PTI NES RHL

Money laundering probe leads to arrests in alleged cooperative bank loan fraud, suspects placed in federal custody. Allegations of money laundering linked to a cooperative bank loan fraud led to arrests under the anti money laundering law of a former cooperative bank chairman and two bank officials, who were remanded to ED custody to allow further investigation into loan disbursement irregularities, institutional governance and related transaction trails.