New Delhi, March 30 The Enforcement Directorate said on Monday that it has returned assets worth more than Rs 15,000 crore to a special committee appointed by the Supreme Court, so that investors allegedly cheated in a Ponzi scheme by Chandigarh-based PACL (Pearls Group) can recover their dues.
The alleged fraud is estimated to be worth Rs 48,000 crore.
A special court under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) has ordered the return of 455 immovable properties, with an approximate current market value of Rs 15,582 crore, to the Justice Lodha Committee, the federal agency said in a statement.
Returning or restoring assets to the affected entities or victims of fraud, such as cheated banks, depositors, and homebuyers, is a remedy available under the PMLA.
The ED's investigation, which began in July 2016, stems from a case registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in 2014 against PACL Ltd, its late promoter Nirmal Singh Bhangoo, and others. The CBI FIR was issued at the direction of the Supreme Court.
Bhangoo died in August 2024.
In February 2016, the apex court directed the market regulator SEBI to constitute a committee, chaired by former Chief Justice of India R M Lodha, to oversee the liquidation and restitution of such assets.
As part of this investigation, the ED has attached properties worth Rs 27,030 crore.
These assets are held in the name of PACL Ltd, its group/associate entities, and Bhangoo's family members/associates, including his wife Prem Kaur, daughters Barinder Kaur and Sukhwinder Kaur, and sons-in-law Harsatinder Pal Singh Hayer and Gurpartap Singh.
The restitution of 455 properties by the special PMLA court marks a "significant" step towards recovering and refunding the proceeds of crime to lakhs of investors who were defrauded under the PACL scheme, the agency said.
The ED remains committed to identifying, attaching, and restituting all proceeds of crime in accordance with the law, it said.
The accused entities and individuals of PACL operated an "illegal" collective investment scheme, fraudulently mobilizing more than Rs 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 the majority of cases, no land was ever delivered, and approximately Rs 48,000 crore remains unpaid to investors," the agency stated.
So far, five chargesheets have been filed by the ED in this case.
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