The Enforcement Directorate on Friday raided multiple locations in Arunachal Pradesh and seized about ₹2.2 crore in cash as part of a money-laundering probe linked to alleged irregularities in the disbursal of compensation for a highway project, officials in the agency said.

Six premises in Itanagar and one each at Likabali (lower Siang district) and Aalo (west Siang district) were raided under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), including the locations of the deputy commissioner, DLRSO (district land revenue and settlement), assessment officials and private beneficiaries and conduits, the officials said.

The Trans-Arunachal Highway compensation scam involves “large-scale irregularities” in assessment, certification and disbursement of land acquisition compensation involving public servants and private beneficiaries.

The project covered a stretch of 157.7km across the Yachuli, Ziro and Raga sectors.

A probe has revealed that the deputy commissioner, Ziro, initially prepared a compensation estimate of ₹289.4 crore for the Potin-Bopi stretch.

Later, in a state-level meeting, the compensation package was frozen and restricted to ₹198.56 crore, an ED official said.

During the disbursement of the compensation, funds were allegedly “diverted” to savings accounts and many cheques were issued to “fake” beneficiaries, resulting in a loss of ₹44 crore to the exchequer, he said.

According to him, this was done by preparing and certifying inflated and fictitious assessments of structures in the Yazali sector of the Trans-Arunachal Highway (Potin-Bopi) project, in which non-existent structures and ineligible beneficiaries were included.

A cash amount of ₹2.2 crore was found at one of the premises belonging to a “fake” beneficiary, the official said.