Lucknow, February 19 – The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached movable and three immovable properties, valued at ₹7.30 crore, in Delhi and Lucknow belonging to the Anee Group of Companies, in connection with a fraudulent investment scheme worth ₹110 crore, an official said on Thursday.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED), Lucknow Zonal Office, has provisionally attached the properties under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, in connection with a money laundering case related to Anee Bullion Traders and others, the ED official said in a statement.
The total value of the properties provisionally attached so far in this case aggregates to ₹16.4 crore, the ED said.
The attached immovable properties are in the form of land and buildings belonging to one of the Anee group of companies, namely Anee Bullion Industries, and are located in Lucknow, Delhi, and Uttarkashi in Uttarakhand, while the movable property is in the form of a Fixed Deposit, according to the ED statement.
The federal investigation agency launched its investigation after the Uttar Pradesh Police registered FIRs and complaints against Ajit Kumar Gupta and various other persons and entities for committing cheating and fraud worth ₹110 crore against the public, the ED said.
The FIR stated that they cheated the victims by luring them to invest in various fraudulent schemes, with the intention of defrauding them of their investments.
The ED investigation revealed that investors' money was layered and routed through the platforms of various companies in the ‘Anee Group’ and the society, Eye Vision Credit Co-operative Society, which was controlled by Ajit Kumar Gupta.
The companies and the Society were used to purchase various properties in the name of one of the group companies, namely Anee Bullion Industries, the ED said.
Earlier, the ED had provisionally attached movable and immovable properties acquired by Ajit Kumar Gupta, his wife Neeharika Singh, IFS, and the Anee Group of Companies, valued at ₹9.1 crore in 2023, according to the official statement.