Imphal, Jan 1 (IANS) The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has issued a second Provisional Attachment Order (PAO), attaching assets worth Rs 33.66 crore belonging to two private companies in Manipur, their sole director, and others, in connection with an alleged cheating case involving nearly 5,000 gullible investors, officials said.

The Imphal Sub-Zonal office has issued 2nd Provisional Attachment Order (PAO) to the tune of Rs 33.66 crore on M/s Birla Emporium Pvt Ltd, M/s Ira Finance Pvt. Ltd., its Director Yumnan Irabanta Singh and others in relation to cheating of 5000 gullible investors.

ED initiated the investigation based on FIR registered by the CID (Crime Branch), Manipur, under various Sections of the Indian Penal Code IPC, 1860, against Yumnam Irabanta Singh, Director of M/s Birla Emporium Pvt. Ltd. and M/s Ira Finance Pvt. Ltd.

Through the FIRs, it was alleged that during the period from 2019 to 2021, Yumnam Irabanta Singh was operating a fraudulent investment/deposit scheme that promised investors a high return, but finally, he and his associates had siphoned off several individual depositors’ funds. Investigation revealed that Singh and his entities were operating an unauthorised deposit scheme by collecting huge amounts of money from the public with a promise of exorbitant returns.

According to ED, Singh, along with his associates, has cheated approximately 5,000 investors of Manipur and thereby caused wrongful loss to these gullible depositors to the tune of more than Rs 250 crore and subsequent wrongful gain to himself.

It is also revealed that the M/s Birla Emporium Private Limited and M/s Ira Finance Private Limited have given loans to public/borrowers against the security of their property (Loan Against Property), and the properties of the loanees were transferred and registered in the name of the Directors and staff of M/s. Birla Emporium Private Limited, by executing the sale deed.

The ED said that the company closed its doors to the depositors in the first quarter of 2020 without returning the promised funds to them.

The properties which were registered in the name of the promoters were also kept under their custody without returning them.

Further, these funds, which are Proceeds of Crime (POC), were subsequently utilised in the acquisition of several properties. The ED had earlier identified and provisionally attached various movable and immovable properties in the name of M/s Birla Emporium Pvt. Ltd., Yumnam Irabanta Singh, Director of the company and his associates, amounting to Rs 28.02 crore.

Further, Prosecution Complaint for confiscation of attached properties has been filed before the Special PMLA (Prevention of Money-Laundering Act) court, Imphal East, on 06.06.2025 against M/s Birla Emporium Pvt. Ltd and Shri. Yumnam Irabanta Singh, and others.

Further course of investigation led to the identification of 121 more immovable properties which are registered in the name of M/s Birla Emporium Pvt. Ltd., M/s Ira Finance Pvt. Ltd., Yumnam Irabanta Singh, Director of the company and his associates, which were obtained out of POC.

In this regard, the immovable properties amounting to Rs 33.66 crore are provisionally attached. So far, a total amount of Rs 61.68 crore pertaining to various movable and immovable properties in the name of M/s Birla Emporium Pvt Ltd, Yumnan Irabanta Singh and his associates have been provisionally attached. Further investigation is underway.

–IANS

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