New Delhi, Dec 18 || As many as 169 immovable properties valued at Rs 3,436.56 crore and located in Ludhiana, Punjab, were attached by the ED in connection with a Rs 48,000 crore fraud committed under the garb of a real estate investment scheme floated by Pearls Agrotech Corporation Ltd (PACL), an official said on Thursday.
The Directorate of Enforcement (ED), Delhi Zonal Office, provisionally attached the properties in connection with its ongoing probe in the case of PACL and others under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, said the official.
The ED initiated an investigation based on an FIR registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Bank Securities and Fraud Branch (BSFC), New Delhi, under Sections 120-B and 420 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) dealing with conspiracy and cheating against PACL, M/s PGF Ltd., Late Nirmal Singh Bhangoo, and others, said a statement.
The case pertains to massive fraudulent collective investment schemes floated by PACL through which the company and its associates deceitfully raised and misappropriated around Rs 48,000 crore from unsuspecting investors.
The ED said the massive amount of money constitutes the Proceeds of Crime (POC).