New Delhi, February 18 The Enforcement Directorate (ED) said on Wednesday that it has issued its largest single seizure order, attaching 247 immovable assets worth more than Rs 10,000 crore as part of its investigation into money laundering against Chandigarh-based PACL (Pearls Group).
The group is accused of orchestrating a Ponzi scheme worth Rs 48,000 crore.
The properties, which have been provisionally attached under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), are located in SAS Nagar (Mohali), Rupnagar, and Zirakpur in Punjab, the federal probe agency said in a statement.
The 247 properties have been identified as having been acquired from investor funds, constituting proceeds of crime. They have been valued at Rs 10,021.46 crore, it said.
This is likely the largest single seizure order in terms of value and the number of properties issued by the agency, ED officials said.
There have been instances where more assets with higher value have been attached in money laundering cases, but these are separate instances and not a single case, they said.
The ED investigation stems from a February 2014 case by the CBI against PACL Ltd, its late promoter Nirmal Singh Bhangoo, and others.
Bhangoo died in August 2024.
The accused entities and individuals of PACL operated an "illegal" collective investment scheme, fraudulently mobilizing more than Rs 48,000 crore from lakhs of investors across India under the guise of the sale and development of agricultural land, according to the ED.
Investors were induced to invest through cash down payments and installment payment plans, and were made to sign "misleading" documents, including agreements, powers of attorney, and other instruments, it said.
"In most cases, no land was ever delivered, and approximately Rs 48,000 crore remains unpaid to investors," the agency said.
Four charge sheets have been filed by the ED so far as part of this case, which was registered in 2016.
With this new order, the ED has so far attached movable and immovable properties worth Rs 17,610 crore, including some assets located abroad.