New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED), Delhi Zonal Office-II, has provisionally attached 247 immovable properties worth Rs 10,021.46 crore under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in connection with its ongoing probe into the alleged multi-crore fraud involving PACL Ltd and its related entities, an official statement said on Wednesday.
The attached properties are located in SAS Nagar (Mohali), Rupnagar and Zirakpur in Punjab, and are suspected to have been acquired using funds collected from investors under an illegal collective investment scheme.
The ED investigation stems from an FIR registered on February 19, 2014, by the CBI under Sections 120-B (criminal conspiracy) and 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code. The FIR was filed pursuant to directions issued by the Supreme Court of India.
Subsequently, the CBI filed a charge sheet and a supplementary charge sheet against 33 accused, including individuals and companies, for allegedly operating a massive illegal investment scheme.
According to the charge sheets, the accused mobilised over Rs 48,000 crore from lakhs of investors across the country under the guise of selling and developing agricultural land.
“Investors were lured through cash down payment and instalment schemes and made to sign misleading agreements, powers of attorney and other documents. In most cases, the promised land was never delivered, and a substantial portion of the collected funds remains unpaid to investors,” ED the statement said
The agency said the scheme involved multiple front entities and reverse sale transactions to conceal the fraud and generate unlawful gains.
On February 2, 2016, the Supreme Court directed the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to constitute a committee under the chairmanship of former Chief Justice of India R.M. Lodha to oversee the disposal of PACL’s land assets and ensure that sale proceeds are distributed to investors.
However, further investigations revealed alleged continued illegal dissipation of PACL’s assets. This led to three additional FIRs being registered by the Punjab Vigilance Bureau, Jawahar Circle Police Station (Jaipur), and Attibele Police Station (Bengaluru) for alleged illegal sale, encroachment and misuse of land acquired using investor funds.
According to ED, search operations in these cases reportedly resulted in the seizure of incriminating materials, including blank sale deeds, signed cheque books and identity documents, indicating systematic attempts to siphon off and dispose of proceeds of crime.
The ED registered an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) in 2016 and filed a Prosecution Complaint in 2018, followed by three supplementary prosecution complaints in 2022, 2025 and 2026 against various accused persons and entities. The Special Court (PMLA) has taken cognisance of all complaints filed so far.
With the latest attachment of 247 properties, the ED has now provisionally attached movable and immovable assets worth approximately Rs 17,610 crore in the case, including properties located both in India and abroad.
Further investigation is underway.
(IANS)
