New Delhi, March 20 (IANS) As many as 126 immovable properties valued at Rs 5,046.91 crore, spread across Punjab and Delhi, were attached by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday, in connection with a large-scale fraud committed under the garb of a real estate investment scheme, operated by the Pearls Group.

The attachment by the ED’s Delhi Zonal office came under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and pertains to a financial fraud of Rs 48,000 crore, an official statement said.

The move marks fresh attachment of the group’s properties over money laundering by the Chandigarh-based firm.

The attached 126 properties were found, in ED investigation, to be acquired by the firm from the investors’ funds, constituting the proceeds of crime.

With this attachment, the ED has so far attached movable and immovable properties worth nearly Rs 22,656.91 crore, including assets located in India and abroad, belonging to PACL Limited and its related entities.

The ED had initiated an investigation against the firm on basis of an FIR lodged by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) under Sections 120-B and 420 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860.

The CBI had filed a charge sheet and a supplementary charge sheet against 33 accused, including individuals and companies, for their role in running an illegal investment scheme.

In its charge sheet, the CBI indicted the individuals and entities of the firm, operating a massive illegal investment scheme and fraudulently mobilising more than Rs 48,000 crore from lakhs of investors across India under the pretext of sale and development of agricultural land.

Their modus operand included coaxing investors to invest under cash down payment and instalment payment plans. They were made to sign misleading documents such as agreements, powers of attorney and other instruments. In most cases, land was never delivered, and nearly Rs 48,000 crore remained unpaid to investors.

The scheme involved use of multiple front entities and reverse sale transactions to conceal the fraud and generate wrongful gains.

As of now, the ED has filed one charge sheet and four supplementary charge sheets in 2022, 2025 and 2026 against accused persons and entities involved in laundering the proceeds of crime.

–IANS

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