Panchkula (Haryana) [India], October 14 (HBTV): The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has provisionally attached immovable properties worth INR 696.21 crore located in Panchkula, Haryana, in connection with its ongoing investigation into the Pearl Agro Corporation Limited (PACL) case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the agency said on Thursday.
According to the ED, the investigation originated from a First Information Report registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on February 19, 2014, against PACL Ltd, PGF Ltd, late Nirmal Singh Bhangoo, and others.
The case involves large-scale fraudulent collective investment schemes floated by PACL, through which the company and its associates deceitfully raised and misappropriated approximately INR 48,000 crore from unsuspecting investors, constituting the Proceeds of Crime (POC).
The ED’s probe revealed that the funds collected from lakhs of investors were layered and diverted through multiple transactions to obscure their illegal origin.
‘Part of the tainted funds were utilised for the acquisition of 11 immovable properties, valued at INR 696.21 crore, in the names of entities such as DSS Megacity Pvt Ltd, Saramati Realtors Pvt Ltd, Saramati Techno Build Pvt Ltd, Shiv Megacity Project Pvt Ltd, and Roseco Builders Pvt Ltd. The layering was deliberately structured to project the assets as legitimate, thereby attempting to mask the Proceeds of Crime,’ the agency said in a statement.
So far, the ED has attached movable and immovable properties worth INR 2,165 crore in the case, including domestic properties located across India and foreign assets.
One Prosecution Complaint and two supplementary Prosecution Complaints have been filed in the matter to date.
Further investigation is underway.
(ANI)