The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is currently carrying out raids at eight locations in Hyderabad, Telangana in connection with a sheep distribution scam case. The investigation has identified some beneficiaries and middlemen involved, based on the money trail, and their premises are being searched. In a statement the ED said, the initial case registered involves an amount of nearly two crores, however, as per CAG’s report, loss to the government is running into hundreds of crores. It said that CAG’s audit, which reviewed the scheme for seven districts in Telangana up to March 2021, found many irregularities.

These include missing details of beneficiaries, improper records of transportation invoices, payments made against fake or non-transport vehicle registrations, duplicate sheep tags, and sheep units given to dead or non-existent people. The audit estimated losses of more than two hundered fifty three crores in just seven districts. The ED said, on a proportionate basis for all the 33 districts in the entire state of Telangana, the loss is likely to exceed one thousand crore rupees. It further added that crucial information has been obtained which indicates massive fraud in the scheme.