Bhubaneswar: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday seized cash amounting to Rs 1.01 crore and six luxury vehicles during searches at five premises linked to M/s Wellfare Buildings and Estates Pvt. Ltd. (WBEPL) and its directors in connection with a multi-crore deposit mobilisation and chit fund case in Odisha.
The ED’s Bhubaneswar Zonal Office conducted the searches on August 5 under Section 17 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, at residential and business premises in Visakhapatnam and Hyderabad.
The agency also froze 182 bank accounts during the searches, besides recovering and seizing incriminating documents, digital devices, and details of movable and immovable properties allegedly linked to WBEPL, its directors, and related entities.
The premises searched were linked to WBEPL and its directors, including Malla Vijaya Prasad and Varaha Ramakrishna Satya Sinivasa Rao Alla.
The ED said the money laundering investigation was initiated on the basis of multiple FIRs and subsequent chargesheets filed by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW), Bhubaneswar; the CBI’s Anti-Corruption Bureau, Dhanbad; Odisha Police; and a complaint filed by the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) against WBEPL and its directors.
According to the investigating agency, the company’s directors and managing director allegedly operated a large-scale deposit mobilisation scheme under the guise of a real estate business.
The company allegedly collected more than Rs 2,000 crore from the public in violation of statutory provisions, the ED said.
The agency alleged that funds collected from new investors were used to repay earlier investors, while substantial amounts were diverted for unrelated purposes and personal gains.
The ED further alleged that the company’s financial statements were manipulated to conceal the deposits and that irregular land transactions were carried out to suppress the actual consideration involved and evade statutory obligations.
According to the agency, thousands of investors from Odisha, West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh, and other states were allegedly induced to invest their money through various schemes.
The investors were allegedly promised land in Visakhapatnam. The company subsequently shut down its branch offices operating across several states, leaving investors in the lurch, the ED said.
During the searches, the agency recovered documents relating to properties and other assets, besides digital evidence that could assist in tracing the alleged proceeds of crime.
The ED said the seized material would be examined as part of the ongoing investigation.
Further investigation into the case is underway, the agency said.
