Latest news with #DirectorateofEnforcement
Time of India
8 hours ago
- Business
- Time of India
ED secures custody of two Ramprastha Group directors in ₹1,100 crore fraud case
GURUGRAM: The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) on Wednesday secured two-day custody of Sandeep Yadav and Arvind Walia , promoters of Haryana-based realty company Ramprastha Group , in connection with a money laundering probe linked to an alleged Rs 1,100 crore fraud with homebuyers. The two were arrested on Monday after the Gurugram zonal office of the federal probe agency raided three premises in Delhi and Gurugram, including those of the directors, early morning on that day. Yadav and Walia are directors and majority shareholders in Ramprastha Promoters and Developers Pvt Ltd ( RPDPL ). They were taken into custody under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The federal probe agency produced the two in the court of an additional session judge, following which the ED secured their custody. The agency conducted a survey against the group in September 2024. It is alleged that the RPDPL collected about Rs 1,100 crore from more than 2,000 homebuyers for various housing schemes like Project Edge, Project Skyz, Project Rise and Ramprastha City (plotted colony project) in various sectors of Gurugram during 2008-11. The possession of the flats or plots is yet to be given, even after 15-20 years, the sources said. Earlier this month, the agency attached colonies and plots spread across more than 1,900 acres and worth over Rs 681.54 crore of the group in Gurugram as part of this investigation. The money laundering case stems from multiple FIRs filed by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Delhi and Haryana Police based on complaints of numerous homebuyers against RPDPL and its promoters, like Yadav, Walia and Balwant Chaudhary for their "failure" to deliver promised flats and plots within the promised timeframes, the ED had said in a statement. The company and its promoters "diverted" the funds sources from buyers of these projects to its group companies as advances for the purchase of land parcels, instead of using them for completion of promised homes, it had said.
Time of India
21 hours ago
- Business
- Time of India
Real estate fraud: Absconding promoters of Universal Buildwell arrested
1 2 Chandigarh: The Directorate of Enforcement (ED), Gurugram Zonal Office, on Wednesday claimed to have arrested Raman Puri, Varun Puri and Vikram Puri – promoters and former directors of M/s Universal Buildwell Pvt Ltd – under the prevention of Money Laundering Act in a case related to alleged real estate fraud. The arrested accused, apprehended Tuesday night, were absconding for more than seven years and were declared proclaimed offenders by various courts in predicate matters. They were apprehended by the Delhi Police. The special PMLA court in Gurugram on Wednesday remanded the trio into ED custody until July 29. The ED had initiated an investigation into the case based on more than 30 FIRs registered under various sections of the IPC across Delhi NCR against M/s Universal Buildwell Pvt Ltd, Raman Puri, Vikram Puri, and Varun Puri for failing to complete real estate projects on time and cheating the homebuyers/investors of their hard-earned money. The company was taken to the CIRP (Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process), which resulted in a resolution plan for homebuyers/other financial contributors being accepted and NCLT (National Company Law Tribunal) ordering some assets to be delivered to the homebuyers, who were the financial creditors, and the remaining assets to be liquidated. Most of the homebuyers had invested in the project before 2010. The case stems from the fraudulent mobilisation of homebuyers/investors' funds by the accused persons through Universal Buildwell Pvt Ltd, based on false promises of completing the project by 2010 and also promising assured returns in commercial projects. The arrested persons are also accused of cheating various financial institutions through forgery and fraud. They reportedly transferred some assets at negligible rates, oversold existing inventory, and executed forged agreements for their personal benefits. In this matter, data collected from the resolution professional revealed that the company, through their accused promoters, collected more than Rs 1,000 crore over 12 years on eight different projects in Gurugram and Faridabad, namely Universal Trade Tower, Universal Greens, Universal Business Park, Aura, Universal Square, Market Square, The Pavilion, and Universal Prime. They allegedly utilised only part of the funds for development and siphoned off the funds to acquire lands and other assets for their personal gains through criminal misappropriation, cheating, forgery, and fraud.
The Hindu
2 days ago
- The Hindu
ED officer interrogated by VACB in bribery case
A Directorate of Enforcement (ED) officer booked in a bribery case appeared before the Kochi unit of the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) for interrogation on Tuesday. Shekhar Kumar, assistant director of the Kochi unit of the ED, was interrogated for hours. He was summoned by the VACB after the Kerala High Court granted him anticipatory bail earlier this month. Mr. Shekhar Kumar turned up at the VACB office in Kathrikadavu along with his lawyer at around 10.30 a.m. During the interrogation, which lasted till evening, he reportedly denied having demanded a bribe. He also claimed that he doesn't know the other two accused - Wilson Varghese and Mukesh Kumar, who had been arrested in the case. The interrogation is likely to continue in the coming days, said VACB sources. The VACB registered the case and arrested three persons on the charge of attempting to take a bribe of ₹2 crore from a businessperson to allegedly get him off the hook in a an ED case. The case was registered on a complaint by a Kollam-based man who runs a cashew export-import firm. As per the VACB remand report, the ED officer was the key accused. According to the VACB, the businessperson was summoned to the Kochi unit of the ED in 2024 on the grounds that his firm's turnover was very high and that accounts had been forged to mask money laundering. He was then demanded to produce documents dating back years and was threatened to register a case and imprison him, said the remand report. Shortly thereafter, the second accused, Wilson, contacted the businessperson with an offer to sort out his ED trouble by paying ₹2 crore to the first accused, stated the remand report.
Time of India
6 days ago
- Time of India
Funds received from frgn countries were used to buy assets: ED on Chhangur Baba
Lucknow: The Directorate of Enforcement (ED), Lucknow Zonal Office, completed search operations at 15 locations related to Chhangur Baba, his close associate Naveen Rohra, and others in Balrampur, Lucknow, and Mumbai. These operations were conducted under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, in connection with a money laundering case related to Chhangur Baba and others on Friday. The ED initiated the investigation based on an FIR registered by ATS, Lucknow, under various sections. The FIR alleged a large-scale conspiracy involving unlawful religious conversions, utilisation of foreign funding, and activities posing a potential threat to national security. Chhangur Baba and his associates are alleged to have established an extensive network operating from the premises of Chand Auliya Dargah, Balrampur, where he regularly organised large gatherings attended by both Indian and foreign nationals. He is accused of systematically inducing, coercing, and manipulating individuals of other faiths—particularly Scheduled Castes and economically disadvantaged persons belonging to the Hindu religion—into religious conversion. The ED sources said that during the course of the investigation, 22 bank accounts related to Chhangur Baba and his associates were analysed. From the analysis of these bank accounts, funds amounting to more than Rs. 60 Crore received by Chhangur Baba and his associates were identified. It was also revealed that a large amount of funds was received from foreign countries by Chhangur Baba and his associates. During the searches, a number of documents were seized, which revealed that the funds, which are nothing but proceeds of crime, were majorly transferred to different people for purchasing a number of immovable properties worth crores of rupees and carrying out construction activities on these properties. The evidence collected during the searches revealed that all the immovable assets acquired by Chhangur Baba are in the names of his associates, Naveen Rohra and Neetu Rohra, to conceal his actual involvement in money laundering. The searches also resulted in the recovery of physical records relevant to the investigation. Further investigation is in progress.
Time of India
6 days ago
- Time of India
ED raids 22 Punjab de-addictioncentres for illegal sale of drugs
NEW DELHI/BATHINDA: The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) on Friday conducted searches at 22 de-addiction centres across Punjab, including in Chandigarh, Barnala and Ludhiana, after its investigation revealed illegal sale of drugs by these centres. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now The agency also searched a premise in Mumbai linked to the accused. Dr Amit Bansal, who runs these 22 centres, is prime accused in the case, sources said. Bansal, against whom Punjab Police has registered multiple FIRs, is alleged to be engaged in illegal sale of drugs from his de-addiction centres. Privately-run drug de-addiction centres in Punjab are allowed to administer BNX (Buprenorphine/Naloxone) medicine to enrolled patients. These drugs are strictly meant for rehabilitation of addicts. Taken in excess, it is considered drug abuse. 'It was found that Bansal, through his de-addiction centres, misused his facility and was allegedly involved in illegal sale of these drugs,' sources said. The agency has also been investigating drug inspector Rupinder Kaur, who allegedly assisted Bansal in providing incorrect inspection reports related to pilferage of medicine from his hospitals. Kaur's premises were also searched, besides a pharmaceutical company manufacturing BNX. Bansal was, until some time ago, a major player in the de-addiction and rehabilitation business in Punjab. A native of Barnala town, around 175km from Chandigarh, he started his career by setting up a small-time scan centre and then established his first de-addiction centre under the name 'Manorog Kendra' in Barnala. Bansal first ran into trouble in 2022 when two employees of his Ludhiana centre were arrested during a Vigilance Bureau raid for deficiencies in Buprenorphine and Naloxone. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Authorities had then recovered 4,000 Buprenorphine tablets from a Honda Activa registered in the centre's name. A case was registered in Mohali on Oct 5, 2022, but charges under NDPS Act were not added. Bansal was arrested in Mohali on Dec 31, after which all 22 centres came under scrutiny. He is currently on bail.
