LUCKNOW, Jan. 4 -- The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is set to enter the bribery case involving Central Goods & Services Tax (CGST) officials in Jhansi, including deputy commissioner Prabha Bhandari, with a likely focus on the money laundering angle linked to the alleged corruption network.

Sources said the ED has begun preliminary groundwork to initiate action under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), following revelations by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) about a well-organised extortion racket operating within the CGST office. The agency is expected to examine whether bribe money collected from traders was laundered through benami properties, shell entities or layered financial transactions.

As part of its initia...