The directorate of enforcement (ED) has provisionally attached 14 immovable properties valued at ₹1596 crore in Punjab as part of its ongoing money laundering investigation into the alleged ₹48,000 crore PACL investment fraud case.
In
a release, the agency says, the attached assets belong to the Gian Sagar Educational & Charitable Trust and are located in Ramnagar, Punjab. According to the agency, the valuation is based on current market estimates and excludes outstanding bank liabilities.
ED stated that the 14 attached properties have been identified as proceeds of crime generated from investor money collected by PACL. According to the agency's investigation, land parcels and infrastructure assets owned by the Gian Sagar Educational & Charitable Trust were allegedly financed using funds diverted from PACL. The funds, investigators said, originated from money collected from investors under the scheme.
The action was taken under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, as investigators continue to trace assets allegedly acquired using funds collected from investors through the PACL group's collective investment scheme.
ED said its probe stems from a case registered by central bureau of investigation (CBI) under charges related to criminal conspiracy and cheating. The CBI investigation was initiated following directions issued by the Supreme Court.
Subsequently, CBI filed a charge sheet and a supplementary charge sheet against 33 accused, including individuals and corporate entities, alleging their involvement in operating an illegal investment scheme.
According to findings cited in the charge-sheets, PACL Ltd and associated entities allegedly mobilised more than ₹48,000 crore from investors across the country by promising agricultural land sales and development opportunities.
Investigators allege that investors were persuaded to invest through lump-sum and instalment-based payment plans. During the process, they were made to execute various documents, including agreements and powers of attorney, purportedly linked to land transactions.
However, authorities claim that in a large number of cases, the promised land was never transferred to investors, leaving substantial amounts unpaid.
The probe has also indicated the use of multiple front companies and reverse sale transactions to allegedly conceal the movement of funds and generate unlawful gains.
ED registered its enforcement case information report (ECIR) in 2016 and subsequently filed its first prosecution complaint in 2018.
Since then, six supplementary prosecution complaints have been filed between 2022 and 2026 against various individuals and entities accused of involvement in the alleged laundering of funds.
The special court designated under PMLA has taken cognisance of all prosecution complaints filed so far, the agency said.
With the latest attachment, the total value of assets attached by ED in connection with the PACL case has reached about ₹28,626 crore.
The attached assets include both movable and immovable properties located in India and overseas, making the PACL investigation one of the largest asset-tracing exercises undertaken by the agency.
ED said further investigation into the money trail and identification of additional assets is continuing.
The mobilisation of funds by PACL goes back to prior to 1997. Upon receipt of a complaint, SEBI on 30 November 1999 and 10 December 1999 issued letters asking PACL to comply with the provisions of the collective investment scheme (CIS) regulations.
In 2016, the Supreme Court directed SEBI to facilitate the refund process for affected investors.
In February 2019, a committee headed by retired justice (retd) RM Lodha, which is supervising the Supreme Court (SC)-ordered process of selling PACL's assets. initiated the process of refunds in phases for investors who had invested in PACL. PACL (or Pearls) is one of the largest Ponzi schemes in India, which had been allowed to run for decades, amassing over ₹60,000 crore. The committee asked PACL investors to submit online applications for refunds.
The Lodha committee has been processing applications received from investors in a phased manner, slab-wise and, currently, applications with claims amounting to up to ₹10,000 have been processed and payments have been made in respect of eligible claim applications.
In April this year, ED facilitated the restitution of 455 immovable properties worth around ₹15,582 crore to the justice RM Lodha committee in connection with the long-running PACL scam, marking a significant step towards refunding defrauded investors.
Officials say the move is aimed at enabling the return of funds to lakhs of investors who were duped by PACL Ltd through an alleged illegal collective investment scheme.
