New Delhi [India], July 23 (HBTV): The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached immovable properties worth INR 762.47 crore in connection with the INR 48,000 crore ponzi scheme case involving PACL Ltd, its directors, promoters, and associated entities, the agency said.

According to the ED, the attached properties are located across Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Maharashtra, and Australia. The assets have been seized under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.

The action was taken by ED's Delhi Zonal Office following an investigation based on a First Information Report (FIR) registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) under Sections 120-B and 420 of the Indian Penal Code against PACL Ltd, PGF Limited, Late Nirmal Singh Bhangoo, and others.

The agency stated that the case relates to a large-scale fraudulent collective investment scheme by PACL, which was structured to deceive and defraud investors.

‘Through these deceptive schemes, PACL, through its directors and others, collected and misappropriated around INR 48,000 crore from unsuspecting investors, which is nothing but Proceeds of Crime (POC),’ said the ED.

The ED investigation revealed that funds fraudulently collected from lakhs of gullible investors were systematically diverted and layered through multiple transactions to conceal their illicit origins.

‘These tainted funds were ultimately utilized to acquire 68 immovable properties having current market value of INR 762.47 crore (approximately) in the names of Late Nirmal Singh Bhangoo (one of the promoters of PACL), his family members, and entities related to PACL,’ the agency said.

The ED added that the purchases were deliberately made to disguise the true nature of the assets and project them as legitimate properties, thereby attempting to mask the POC as lawful assets.

(ANI)