The directorate of enforcement (ED) has provisionally attached 247 immovable properties valued at ₹10,021.46 crore in connection with its ongoing money laundering investigation into the PACL collective investment scheme.
The action was taken by ED's Delhi zonal office under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. The attached properties are located in SAS Nagar, Rupnagar, Zirakpur and Mohali in Punjab.
The probe stems from a first information report (FIR) registered in 2014 by the banking and securities fraud cell (BSFC) of central bureau of investigation (CBI) following directions from the Supreme Court of India. CBI had filed a charge sheet and a supplementary charge sheet against 33 accused, including individuals and companies, for allegedly running an illegal collective investment scheme through PACL Ltd and related entities.
According to the charge-sheets, the accused entities mobilised over ₹48,000 crore from lakhs of investors across the country by promising sale and development of agricultural land. Investors were enrolled under cash down payment and instalment plans and were made to sign agreements, powers of attorney and other documents that investigators say were misleading.
In most instances, the promised land parcels were never handed over. Investigators have alleged that around ₹48,000 crore remains unpaid to investors. The scheme allegedly operated through multiple front entities and reverse sale transactions to conceal the origin and movement of funds and to generate unlawful gains.
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.
However, further investigations indicated continued illegal dissipation of PACL assets. This led to the registration of three additional FIRs by the Punjab vigilance bureau, Jawahar circle police station in Jaipur and Attibele police station in Bengaluru. These cases relate to alleged illegal sale, encroachment and misuse of land acquired using investor funds.
Search operations conducted in these matters resulted in the seizure of documents and materials, including blank sale deeds, signed cheque books and identity documents. Officials say these indicated systematic attempts to siphon off and dispose of properties identified as proceeds of crime.
ED recorded an enforcement case information report (ECIR) in 2016 and filed a prosecution complaint in 2018. Three supplementary prosecution complaints were subsequently filed in 2022, 2025 and 2026 against various accused persons and entities allegedly involved in laundering the proceeds of crime. The special court under the PMLA has taken cognisance of all prosecution complaints filed so far.
The 247 properties attached in the latest action have been identified as assets acquired using investor funds and are treated as proceeds of crime under the anti-money laundering law. With this attachment, the total value of movable and immovable assets attached by the agency in the PACL case has reached around ₹17,610 crore, including properties located in India and abroad.
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 September 2018, ED filed a charge-sheet against PACL and the company's chief, Mr Bhangoo, in connection with the Ponzi scam involving over ₹49,100 crore which was collected allegedly by two companies from millions of investors. ED, in January 2018, attached Australia-based assets of the Pearls group and Mr Bhangoo worth ₹472 crore. (Read:
PACL Scam: ED Files Chargesheet in the Rs49,100 crore Fraud)
Mr Bhangoo, his companies, PACL and PGFL, as well as several thousand of his commission agents, were accused of cheating 55 million investors on the pretext of the sale and development of agricultural land.
The companies made false allotments of land to investors. However, the companies never owned any land in their own name.
Mr Bhangoo and his companies promised the investors that allotment would be done on their investment between 90 and 270 days and, if not, handsome returns would be paid.
