NEW DELHI: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) announced on Wednesday that it has attached assets worth ₹400 crore linked to a trust associated with former Jaypee Infratech MD Manoj Gaur, as well as with Honeyy Katiyal, the promoter of leading housing brokerage Investors Clinic.
This action, under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), is part of an investigation into Jaypee group companies—Jaypee Infratech Ltd (JIL) and Jaiprakash Associates Ltd (JAL)—involving allegations of large-scale fraud and misappropriation of funds collected from homebuyers of the Jaypee Wishtown and Jaypee Greens projects in Noida.
According to the ED, a provisional order has been issued to seize immovable assets belonging to Jaiprakash Sewa Sansthan (JSS) and Page 3 Buildtech Private Limited, collectively valued at ₹400 crore. The ED has not specified how much each entity is accountable for.
Gaur, who has been in judicial custody since his arrest by the ED in November, serves as the managing trustee of JSS, while Page 3 Buildtech is “controlled and beneficially owned” by Katiyal, the founder of Investors Clinic.
The ED claims that these two companies received a portion of the diverted funds from homebuyers.
While Gaur’s legal representative could not be reached for comment, a response from Investors Clinic is pending.
Meanwhile, Adani Enterprises has won a bid to acquire Jaiprakash Associates Ltd through an insolvency process. Lenders have approved Adani Group’s resolution plan for the bankrupt firm, pending validation from the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT).
JAL operates across various sectors, including construction, power, hospitality, real estate, and sports management.
The Mumbai-based Suraksha Group has also acquired Jaypee Infratech Ltd through an insolvency process; this firm is primarily focused on real estate and owns the Yamuna Expressway, linking Noida and Greater Noida to Agra.
The money laundering case originates from complaints filed by the homebuyers of Jaypee Wishtown and Jaypee Greens, as acknowledged by the FIRs from the Delhi and Uttar Pradesh Police.
According to these complaints, JIL, JAL, and their promoters, including Gaur, raised funds from thousands of investors for home construction but allegedly “diverted” those funds, resulting in defrauded homebuyers and incomplete projects.
The ED reported that the two Jaypee group companies collected ₹14,599 crore from over 25,000 homebuyers (as claimed by the NCLT), but a significant portion was allegedly siphoned off to associated entities, such as JSS, Jaypee Healthcare Ltd., and Jaypee Sports International Ltd.
The investigation has reportedly highlighted Manoj Gaur’s key role in orchestrating the fund diversion through a complex network of transactions within the Jaypee group and its affiliates.
