NEW DELHI: A residential property in Delhi worth more than Rs 44 crore has been attached under the anti-money laundering law as part of an investigation against a Noida-based realty company and its promoters accused of duping homebuyers, the Enforcement Directorate said Wednesday.
The case pertains to Bhasin Infotech and Infrastructure Pvt Ltd (BIIPL) and its director Satinder Singh Bhasin.
The money laundering case stems from multiple Uttar Pradesh Police (Noida) FIRs filed in 2015 against BIIPL, Grand Venice group entities, Bhasin, Quincy Bhasin and others on charges of cheating, fraud and criminal conspiracy.
It was alleged in the police cases that the accused collected hundreds of crores of rupees from investors in real estate projects by promising timely delivery of commercial units, which were “never” completed or handed over, the ED said.
The agency identified a “residential independent house” located at D-24 in the upmarket Rajouri Garden area in west Delhi. The asset is in the name of “main accused” Bhasin.
The Lucknow zonal office of the ED issued a provisional order under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) to attach the said property.
The market value of the said property, as assessed on 09.06.2015 (date of police FIR), is Rs 27.01 crore. The present value of the property is Rs 44.06 crore, the ED said.
It was found, the ED alleged, that funds collected from the public were “diverted” and “dissipated” by the accused through a web of group companies and associate entities, instead of being used for the construction and development of promised projects.
These companies were controlled by Bhasin, Harpreet Singh Chhabra, Ajay Dhawan and the proceeds of crime were “layered” and parked across multiple entities with no direct traceability, the agency said.
Raids were conducted by the ED in this case in April at locations in Delhi, Noida and Goa and about Rs 36 lakh in cash was seized apart from documents and electronic records.
