NEW DELHI: The Enforcement Directorate announced on Monday that it has attached fresh assets worth over Rs 100 crore belonging to a realtor from Uttar Pradesh and his company under the anti-money laundering law related to a cheating case.
The assets are tied to ‘The Aranya Project,’ developed by Unnati Fortune Holdings Limited (UFHL), headed by Anil Mithas.
Mithas, based in Ghaziabad, was arrested by the federal probe agency in April and remains in judicial custody.
A chargesheet was submitted by the ED to a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Ghaziabad in May.
The ED’s investigation revealed a “diversion” of approximately Rs 126.30 crore by Mithas through various money laundering techniques, including equity investment, preference shares, debentures/bonds, and loans, during the period from 2011 to 2019 using funds collected from homebuyers and investors into several bank accounts of UFHL.
According to the agency, these diversions harmed the project, leading to its incomplete status. The misappropriation of funds has not only caused significant losses to financial institutions and homebuyers but also resulted in unlawful gains for the directors and promoters, the ED contended.
In a prior phase of this investigation, assets valued at Rs 26 crore were also attached by the ED.
