New Delhi, Jan 26: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached 37 immovable properties valued at Rs 1,986.48 crore in connection with an ongoing investigation into a large-scale financial fraud involving a collective investment scheme operated by PACL Ltd and its related entities.
The properties attached under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, are located in Ludhiana (Punjab) and Jaipur (Rajasthan).
"The attached 37 properties have been identified as having been acquired from investor funds and thus constitute proceeds of crime," said the ED.
With this attachment, the ED has so far attached movable and immovable assets worth approximately Rs 7,589 crore, including properties located in India and abroad.
ED's Delhi Zonal Office-II attached the properties to its investigation into FIR No. RCBD1/2014/E/0004 dated February 19, 2014, registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
ED said its investigation has revealed that "the accused entities and individuals operated an illegal collective investment scheme, fraudulently mobilising more than Rs 60,000 crore from lakhs of investors across India under the guise of sale and development of agricultural land."
"Investors were induced to invest through Cash Down Payment and Instalment Payment Plans and were made to sign misleading documents, including agreements, powers of attorney, and other instruments. In the majority of cases, no land was ever delivered, and approximately Rs 48,000 crore remains unpaid to investors," said the federal agency in a statement.
The scheme involved the use of "multiple front entities and reverse sale transactions to conceal the fraud and generate unlawful gains."
"Further investigation established that the funds collected from unsuspecting investors were routed through various related and unrelated entities and were ultimately credited to the bank accounts of late Nirmal Singh Bhangoo, his family members and associates, and related entities of PACL. These funds were subsequently utilised for the acquisition of immovable properties in their names," said the ED.
During the course of the investigation, the agency pointed out that open-ended non- bailable warrants have been issued against Prem Kaur (wife of late Nirmal Singh Bhangoo), Barinder Kaur (daughter of late Nirmal Singh Bhangoo), Sukhwinder Kaur (daughter of late Nirmal Singh Bhangoo), Gurpratap Singh (son-in-law of late Nirmal Singh Bhangoo) and Prateek Kumar (close associate of late Nirmal Singh Bhangoo).
The ED recorded an ECIR in 2016 and filed a Prosecution Complaint in 2018, followed by two supplementary prosecution complaints in 2022 and 2025, against the accused persons and entities involved in laundering the Proceeds of Crime.
The special PMLA court has taken cognisance of all prosecution complaints filed to date.
(ANI)
