Hyderabad, July 3 (IANS) The Directorate of Enforcement’s (ED) Hyderabad Zonal Office has auctioned an aircraft (Hawker 800A) seized in a case relating to a Rs 792 crore invoice discounting scam allegedly perpetrated by Amardeep Kumar and his company, Capital Protection Force Pvt Ltd (Falcon Group), an agency statement said on Friday.

The Central agency said on Friday that, in a first-of-a-kind action, it auctioned the aircraft through MSTC Limited on July 1 for a sale consideration of Rs 3 crore.

The aircraft was seized at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, Hyderabad, during a search operation conducted on March 7, 2025, by the ED’s Hyderabad Zonal Office in a PMLA case against Amardeep Kumar, Capital Protection Force Pvt. Ltd. and others.

The sale consideration of Rs 3 crore, to be received from the purchaser, will be utilised by the ED for restitution to the genuine investors in accordance with the provisions of the PMLA, 2002, subject to the leave of the special court.

Subsequent to the seizure of the aircraft, the ED had filed an original application before the Adjudicating Authority, PMLA and the same was confirmed through an order on August 18, 2025.

The ED said in a release that it had moved an application before the Adjudicating Authority under Rule 4(2) of the Prevention of Money Laundering (Taking possession of attached or frozen properties confirmed by the Adjudicating Authority) Rules, 2013, seeking permission to sell the seized aircraft.

The Adjudicating Authority, PMLA, through an order on November 20, 2025, allowed the ED, Hyderabad Zonal Office to auction the seized aircraft.

The ED initiated a PMLA case against Capital Protection Force Pvt. Ltd. (a Hyderabad-based company responsible for running a bogus invoice discounting scheme), Amardeep Kumar and others on the basis of 3 FIRs registered by the Economic Offences Wing, Cyberabad, against Falcon Group (Capital Protection Force Pvt. Ltd.), its CMD Amardeep Kumar and some others.

It was alleged that Amardeep Kumar, Capital Protection Force Pvt. Ltd. and others defrauded a large number of investors through a Ponzi scheme to the tune of approximately Rs 792 crore on the pretext of returning a higher amount to the investors that was received under an invoice discounting scheme, though no such actual invoice discounting business was carried out.

Earlier, Sandeep Kumar, brother of Amardeep Kumar, Sharad Chandra Toshniwal, Chartered Accountant and Aryan Singh Chhabra, CEO of Falcon Invoice Discounting, were also arrested by the ED.

A prosecution complaint was also filed by the ED before the jurisdictional court on September 29, 2025.

The ED said that it is committed to ensuring the enforcement of the provisions of the PMLA, 2002 by identifying, tracing, attaching, confiscating the Proceeds of Crime, preventing offenders from enjoying the benefits thereof, prosecuting the accused and facilitating restitution of the attached assets to the genuine victims/investors, in accordance with law. Further investigation is in progress, it added.

–IANS

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