Suspicious withdrawal of ₹3.20 crore from foreign debit card in Dhamtari, ED and SIA investigation intensified

Dhamtari. A big case of suspicious withdrawal of Rs 3.20 crore from ATM through foreign debit card has come to light in Dhamtari, Chhattisgarh, which is being investigated by the State’s Special Investigation Agency and Enforcement Directorate.

This case is related to a suspicious international funding network of about Rs 90 to 95 crore running in the country. Investigating agency SIA has got a big clue in the case of suspicious financial transactions related to foreign funding.

The investigating agency SIA has found a suspicious transaction of Rs 3 crore 20 lakh from a foreign debit card from the ATM of AU Small Finance Bank near Sunderganj Church located in Tikrapara Dhamtari, which is a new clue for the investigating agency.

After this, the investigating agency has taken this ATM under investigation. The agency has taken into its possession the complete transaction records and CCTV footage from the bank.

After this information became public, it is being looked at from many angles in Dhamtari and there are various types of discussions among the people regarding it.

According to the sources of the investigating agency and discussions in the city, about 3200 withdrawals of Rs 10,000 each have been made using foreign debit cards from the ATM of AU Small Finance Bank located near the church in Dhamtari.

A total of Rs 3 crore 20 lakh has been withdrawn from here through withdrawal. The investigating agencies are now trying to find out to which network this transaction is related and in which activities the withdrawn amount was used.

The ATM from where the withdrawal was made is about 15 to 20 meters away from Sunderganj Church. For this reason, the investigating agencies are linking the entire matter with the broader investigation of foreign funding and are also investigating other possible links related to it.

It is being discussed that the person who was being searched by the investigating agencies during the operation was not found on the spot and has absconded. The officers and employees of the agency are continuing the search.

The agencies are also investigating who else are involved in this entire network. And through what means has the amount of foreign funding reached here?

Mr. Jacob, Manager of AU Small Finance Bank, Dhamtari, has informed today that investigation is going on regarding the withdrawal of money from the ATM of Tikrapara. The CCTV footage installed here has been scrutinized and the footage has been sent by the branch.

Further investigation is being conducted at a higher level. Whereas Shailendra Pandey, ASP Dhamtari has said that there is no information regarding withdrawal of Rs 3 crore 20 lakh from foreign debit card from the ATM of AU Small Finance Bank located in Tikrapara of the city.

It is noteworthy that according to the investigation, about Rs 95 crore was brought into India through foreign debit cards between November 2025 and April 2026. About Rs 6.5 crore has been withdrawn from ATMs in sensitive areas like Dhamtari and Bastar of Chhattisgarh.

The ED investigation has revealed that this money was being used for the activities of an organization called ‘The Timothy Initiative’, which is not registered in India under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act.

This case is related to a suspicious international funding network of about Rs 90 to 95 crore running in the country. This withdrawal has been done through foreign debit cards linked to America’s ‘Truist Bank’, bypassing the regulatory system.