New Delhi, May 21 The Enforcement Directorate (ED) Gurugram Zonal office has provisionally attached properties valued at Rs 58.93 crore under the Prevention of Money-Laundering Act (PMLA) belonging to IREO Group of companies and others which are alleged to have siphoned off Rs 1780 crore of homebuyers' money.
The attached properties include land parcels and bank accounts.
The financial probe agency had initiated an investigation on the basis of multiple FIRs registered against real estate company IREO Pvt. Ltd., associated entities, its directors, key managerial persons and others at various police stations across Gurugram, Panchkula, Ludhiana, and Delhi etc.
ED investigation revealed that they duped the innocent buyers by promising them to deliver flats/ plots/ commercial spaces etc., however, they neither delivered the projects nor returned the buyer’s money.
“The probe further revealed that the directors of the company in connivance with certain other persons siphoned off money collected from buyers and did not use it for the intended purpose,” the ED said in a statement issued on Tuesday.
It said that rather, they sent such money outside of India in the form of buy-back of shares, redemptions, FCDs etc. and giving loans and advances to associated entities/persons, giving excessive incentives and advances to key managerial persons.
“The buyer’s money has also been diverted to other companies, which was identified during the investigation. The total Proceeds of Crime identified in the case is Rs.1780 crore,” said the ED official.
Earlier, the key managerial persons involved in the process of money laundering, namely Lalit Goyal (IREO Group) and Roop Bansal (M3M Group) were arrested on November 16, 2021, and June 8, 2023, respectively.
“Searches were also conducted at various linked premises on November 22, 2021, and June 1, 2023. Properties worth Rs 1317.3 crore have been already provisionally attached,” the official added.
--IANS
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