<h1>ED conducts multi-state PMLA searches in alleged Rs 3,500 crore liquor scam probing bogus invoices and kickback network</h1> The Enforcement Directorate conducted multi-state searches under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act in an alleged Rs 3,500 crore state liquor scam, searching about 20 locations linked to entities and individuals accused of facilitating kickbacks through bogus invoices. The probe, registered after a police SIT FIR, follows three police chargesheets and arrests including a ruling-party MP. Police allege a former chief minister received monthly kickbacks and chaired a 2019 meeting that shaped a revised excise policy, that payments were laundered through low-profile intermediaries, and that a senior bureaucrat's warnings were ignored. The ruling party denies the charges.