Kolkata, Sep 15 (IANS) The Enforcement Directorate (ED), Kolkata, on Monday, alleged that a number of Sahara Group assets, which were acquired out of the deposits collected from the public, were being disposed of in a clandestine manner via cash transactions, said the agency in a statement.

The central investigation agency filed a charge sheet in the matter before a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Kolkata on September 6.

It named Anil V Abraham and Jitendra Prasad Verma, both arrested in the case by the ED and presently lodged in jail under judicial custody, as accused in the matter.

Abraham was an executive director of Sahara Group’s core management team, while Verma, a property broker, served as a long-time associate of the group, the agency said.

“Directorate of Enforcement (ED), Kolkata has filed prosecution complaint on 06/09/2025 u/s. 44 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA) in the case of Sahara Group within 60 days of the arrest of Jitendra Prasad Verma and Anil Vilaparampil Abraham. They have been made accused in the case along with other individuals and entities,” said the agency.

The statement further said, “It has been revealed that many properties of the Sahara Group, which were acquired out of the deposits collected from the public, were being disposed of in a clandestine manner involving huge cash transactions. During the investigation, it has been established that Anil V. Abraham and Jitendra Prasad Verma played a significant role in the disposal of such properties in collusion with others. They were actively involved in facilitating, coordinating, and executing transactions relating to the alienation of assets of the Sahara Group.”

The money laundering case had started based on a clutch of 500 FIRs filed by police against Sahara Group entities, including a company named Humara India Credit Cooperative Society Ltd (HICCSL).

It was alleged in the police complaints that large-scale cheating of depositors was orchestrated through forced redeposits and denial of maturity payments.

The ED alleged that Sahara Group was operating a Ponzi scheme.

The Supreme Court on September 12 ordered the disbursal of Rs 5,000 crore of over Rs 24,000 crore deposited by Sahara Group with market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) to repay the dues of the depositors of the Sahara Group of Cooperative Societies.

The apex court also extended the date from December 31, 2025, to December 31, 2026, for disbursal of Rs 5,000 crore to the depositors allocated in 2023.

The bench said the order was in line with the March 29, 2023, order, where a similar application of the Centre was allowed for allocation of Rs 5,000 crore to repay the dues of the depositors of the Sahara Group of Cooperative Societies.

The amount of Rs 5,000 crore was directed to be transferred from the Sebi-Sahara refund account to the Central Registrar of Cooperative Societies, which was asked to disburse it to the genuine depositors upon scrutiny.

The bench said the transfer of the amount should be done within a week under the supervision of former Supreme Court judge R Subhash Reddy and in the manner as outlined in the court’s March 2023 order.

–IANS

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