Panchkula (Haryana) [India], September 18 : The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has provisionally attached immovable properties valued at Rs 696.21 crore located in Haryana's Panchkula in connection with its ongoing probe in the case of Pearl Agro Corporation Limited (PACL) and others under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, the agency said on Thursday.
ED said its investigation stems from the Central Bureau of Investigation's First Information Report registered on February 19, 2014, against PACL Ltd, PGF Ltd, late Nirmal Singh Bhangoo, and others.
The case pertains to massive fraudulent collective investment schemes floated by PACL, through which the company and its associates deceitfully raised and misappropriated around Rs 48,000 crore from unsuspecting investors, which constitutes Proceeds of Crime (POC).
ED's investigation has revealed that the funds mobilised from lakhs of investors were layered and diverted through multiple transactions to conceal their illicit origins.
"Part of the tainted funds were utilised for the acquisition of 11 immovable properties, valued at Rs 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," said the agency in a statement.
To date, in the case ED has attached movable and immovable properties amounting to Rs 2,165 crore, which includes both domestic properties located across India as well as foreign assets.
Further, one Prosecution Complaint and two supplementary Prosecution Complaints have been filed in the case to date.
Further investigation is in progress.