Mumbai, February 14 – The Enforcement Directorate arrested a former Lodha Developers director, Rajendra Narpatmal Lodha, under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act in connection with an ongoing investigation into an alleged fraud case involving losses of over ₹100 crore to the real estate company, the agency said on Saturday.
A Special PMLA Court in Mumbai remanded the accused to eight days of ED custody on Friday after his arrest on Thursday to facilitate further investigation into the case.
“The arrest follows a money laundering inquiry initiated based on FIRs registered by the Mumbai Police against Lodha and others under various provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, for alleged cheating, abuse of position, unauthorized sale of assets, and creation of forged documents,” the ED stated in an official release.
The ED officials claimed that the actions caused a wrongful loss of over ₹100 crore to Lodha Developers.
According to the ED, its investigation indicates that Rajendra Lodha allegedly diverted company funds and assets through the unauthorized sale and transfer of company-owned immovable properties at undervalued rates to proxy entities and individuals linked to him, allegedly without the approval of the board of directors.
The agency further alleged that he fabricated memorandums of understanding for land purchases at inflated prices and siphoned off the inflated amounts in cash through sellers, thereby misappropriating company funds.
“Lodha, along with associates and related entities, accumulated assets through fraudulent transactions that resulted in significant losses to the company,” the agency said.
Earlier in the investigation, the ED had conducted searches on November 12 last year at 14 locations across the Mumbai region. During these search operations, assets worth about ₹88 crore in the form of cash, bank balances and fixed deposits were seized or frozen.
Officials also recovered documents, digital devices and details of immovable properties worth several crores, which they said yielded key evidence in the case. Further investigation into the case is underway, the ED said.