New Delhi, June 1 (IANS) The ED attached 14 immovable properties, worth Rs 1,595.85 crore, belonging to Gian Sagar Educational & Charitable Trust and located at Ramnagar, Punjab, in connection with a Rs 48,000 crore Ponzi scheme of Pearl Agrotech, an official said on Monday.

The attached 14 properties have been identified as having been acquired from investor funds, constituting Proceeds of Crime, the ED said.

The Directorate of Enforcement (ED), Delhi Zonal Office, took the action under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, in connection with its ongoing investigation into a large-scale investment fraud involving a collective investment scheme operated by Pearl Agrotech Corporation Limited (PACL) Ltd. and related entities, said an ED statement.

The ED initiated an investigation based on an FIR registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), New Delhi, under Sections 120-B and 420 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860.

The FIR was registered on the directions of the Supreme Court. Subsequently, the CBI filed a chargesheet and a supplementary chargesheet against 33 accused, including individuals and companies, for their role in running an illegal investment scheme, the ED said.

As per the charge sheets, the accused entities and persons operated a massive illegal collective investment scheme, fraudulently mobilising over Rs 48,000 crore from lakhs of investors across India under the pretext of the sale and development of agricultural land, the ED said.

Investors were induced to invest under Cash Down Payment and Instalment Payment Plans and were made to sign misleading documents, such as agreements, powers of attorney, and other instruments, it said.

In most cases, land was never delivered, and approximately Rs 48,000 crore remains unpaid to investors. The scheme involved the use of multiple front entities and reverse sale transactions to conceal the fraud and generate wrongful gains, the ED said.

The ED recorded an ECIR in 2016 and filed a Prosecution Complaint in 2018, followed by six Supplementary Prosecution Complaints in 2022, 2025, and 2026, against various accused persons and entities involved in the offence of money laundering.

The Special Court (PMLA) has taken cognisance of all the Prosecution Complaints filed so far.

The investigation revealed that the land and infrastructure of Gian Sagar Educational & Charitable Trust were financed using funds diverted from PACL, which were originally collected from gullible investors, the ED said.

With this attachment, the ED has so far attached movable and immovable properties worth approximately Rs 28,626 crore, including assets located in India and abroad, the statement said.

–IANS

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