New Delhi, March 20 The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has executed its largest seizure in a single case, worth over ₹22,000 crore, by freezing properties in its investigation into money laundering against PACL (Pearls Group), based in Chandigarh, which is accused of orchestrating a ₹48,000 crore Ponzi scheme.
These 126 immovable properties are located in Punjab and Delhi.
A provisional order has been issued under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) to attach these properties, the federal agency said in a statement issued on Friday. The value of these assets is ₹5,046.91 crore.
With this seizure, the agency has, so far, attached properties worth a total of ₹22,656.91 crore, including assets located in India and abroad, belonging to PACL and its related entities and individuals, it said.
This is the largest seizure in a single case and a major milestone for the ED as part of the anti-money laundering regime, agency officials said.
The ED investigation of 2016 stems from a 2014 registered CBI case against PACL Ltd, its late promoter Nirmal Singh Bhangoo, and other individuals. The CBI FIR came on the directions of the Supreme Court.
Bhangoo died in August 2024.
The accused entities and individuals of PACL operated an "illegal" collective investment scheme, fraudulently mobilizing more than ₹60,000 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 payment 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 ₹48,000 crore remains unpaid to investors," the agency stated.
So far, five chargesheets have been filed by the ED as part of this case registered in 2016.