The Central Bureau of Investigation conducted searches at 15 locations to unravel the conspiracy to get Project and Equipment Corporation (PEC), a public sector undertaking, to trade on the scam-hit National Spot Exchange Ltd (NSEL).

The fraud by a group of people resulted in an alleged loss of ₹120.75 crore to PEC, said the CBI in a press release on Thursday.

The investigative agency conducted simultaneous searches at 11 locations, including offices of brokers, PEC officials and traders in New Delhi and Karnal.

In Mumbai, the CBI conducted searches at four locations, including residences of Jignesh Shah, promoter of Financial Technology, and Anjani Sinha, former Managing Director of NSEL. The spot exchange has failed to settle trades worth ₹5,600 crore entered on its platform.

The Financial Technology office at Andheri in suburban Mumbai also came under the CBI scanner.

The CBI registered a case against certain officials of PEC and National Spot Exchange on allegations that the accused were party to a criminal conspiracy to cheat PEC, said the release.

Fraudulent contracts Between 2007 and 2013, the accused floated accommodative and fraudulent paired contracts for trade in agro commodities on the National Spot Exchange platform without actually undertaking any genuine trade, it added.

In pursuance of the criminal conspiracy, certain PEC employees abused their official position as public servants and allegedly invested in purchase of agricultural commodities of PEC on the NSEL platform without ensuring any physical delivery of the commodities, and without obtaining title documents.

The CBI said further investigation will continue. PEC, along with another public sector company, MMTC, has filed a case against NSEL in the Bombay High Court to recover dues worth ₹343 crore.

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