Mumbai: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has conducted the extensive search operations across 44 locations in multiple states, including Mumbai, Delhi, Haryana, Punjab Telangana, Karnataka, West Bengal, Rajasthan, and Uttarakhand, targeting M/s Pearl Agro Corporation Limited (PACL) and its affiliates under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002. The operations, conducted on Friday October 4, During the search operation, various incriminating documents were recovered and seized.
According to sources, the ED carried out searches at the Oshiwara and Samarth Agan premises of one of PACL's senior executives and recorded his statement regarding the siphoning of funds collected from investors and transferred via hawala channels to companies in Dubai, linked to PACL's associates, for purchasing real estate abroad.
The ED's investigation was initiated based on an FIR registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). It is alleged that PACL collected over Rs. 49,100 crore from approximately 58 million investors through illegal collective investment schemes. These schemes promised plots of land in various parts of the country or provided investors with an option to redeem the expected value of the land upon maturity. Notably, PACL was previously banned by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) for its unlawful fundraising activities, which spanned 18 years.
The ED's findings revealed that the directors of PACL siphoned off the funds collected from investors by transferring them to shell companies based in Kolkata under the pretext of land development expenses. These funds were subsequently withdrawn in cash and handed over to key associates of PACL in Delhi. Additionally, the investigation uncovered that these funds were funneled via hawala to companies in Dubai for the purchase of overseas properties.
In previous actions, the ED had attached two immovable properties in Australia valued at Rs. 462 crore in 2018, alongside movable and immovable properties worth Rs. 244 crore in India in 2022. The details of these properties have been forwarded to the Justice Lodha Committee, appointed by the Hon’ble Supreme Court, to oversee the disposal of these assets and facilitate refunds to affected investors.
The ED has filed prosecution complaints against 11 entities, including PACL and its associated companies, as well as individuals such as Nirmal Singh Bhagoo, who recently passed away, and his close associates K.S. Toor, M.L. Sehjpal, Prateek, and C.P. Khandelwal.
Further investigations are underway as the ED continues to probe this significant financial scandal.
