New Delhi, Jan 26 (IANS) The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached 37 immovable properties, located in Ludhiana and Jaipur and valued at Rs 1,986 crore, in connection with the Rs 48,000 crore fraud committed under the garb of the real estate investment scheme, floated by Pearls Agrotech Corporation Ltd (PACL), an official said on Monday.
The 37 properties attached by the investigative agency were acquired by the company, with funds raised from the investors and thus constituted “proceeds of crime”.
With this, the ED has attached movable and immovable assets of the firm valued at about Rs 7,589 crore, including properties located in India and abroad.
According to ED officials, the accused entity and individuals operated an illegal investment scheme, fraudulently aggregating over Rs 60,000 crore from lakhs of investors across the country, under the guise of the sale and development of agricultural land.
The investors were lured to invest through cash down payment and instalment payment plans and were made to sign misleading documents, including agreements, powers of attorney, and other instruments.
“In majority of cases, no land was ever delivered, and approximately Rs 48,000 crore remains unpaid to investors. The scheme involved the use of multiple front entities and reverse sale transactions to conceal the fraud and generate unlawful gains,” the agency said in a statement.
The attachment of immovable property followed an investigation into large-scale financial fraud by the PACL and its associates.
A case was lodged by the Central Bureau of Investigation under Sections 120-B and 420 of the Indian Penal Code, dealing with cheating and criminal conspiracy. The investigation found that the funds collected from unsuspecting investors were routed through various related and unrelated entities and were eventually credited into bank accounts of late Nirmal Singh Bhangoo, his family members and associates, and related entities of M/s. PACL. These funds were subsequently utilised for the acquisition of immovable properties in their names.
–IANS
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