GURUGRAM | NEW DELHI: A Gurugram realty company allegedly defrauded home buyers by collecting over Rs 500 crore for housing plots and misappropriating approximately Rs 205 crore for a hotel project in Sri Lanka, according to a chargesheet filed by the ED.
The federal investigation agency is looking into various homebuyer fraud cases nationwide, particularly in the National Capital Region (NCR), where the real estate market is thriving.
This specific inquiry involves Krrish Realtech, led by its promoter Amit Katyal, among others.
Katyal was arrested in 2023 in a separate money laundering case linked to an alleged land-for-jobs scam with RJD leader Lalu Prasad and his family.
The Gurugram zonal office of the ED submitted a chargesheet against the company and its promoters in July, with a notice issued to the accused by the local PMLA court on August 19.
The ED’s investigation revealed that Katyal engaged in fraudulent activities by enticing unsuspecting buyers to purchase plots without having the necessary legal licenses to do so.
The agency stated that more than Rs 500 crore was amassed from over 400 clients, with the proceeds of this alleged fraud being funneled into the personal accounts of Katyal and several “shell” companies they controlled.
Moreover, it was discovered that Rs 205 crore collected from homebuyers was diverted for a real estate and hotel project in Colombo, Sri Lanka, through a shell company named Mahadev Infrastructure.
Additional funds were reportedly used to buy properties, land, and apartments under various alleged “front” companies, including Good Earth Pvt. Ltd. and Heaven Tradelink Pvt. Ltd., as well as by family members and employees of the promoters.
Interestingly, it was noted that Katyal’s son, a citizen of Saint Kitts and Nevis, is claiming “beneficial ownership” of assets in Sri Lanka.
The ED’s money laundering investigation is rooted in FIRs from the Delhi Police and the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Gurugram Police.
Last year, the agency conducted searches in the case and attached various assets, including the real estate project in Sri Lanka and lands in Gurugram, alongside other immovable properties in Delhi.
In describing the alleged modus operandi, the ED indicated that Katyal never intended to deliver the plots, promised to be built on a valuable 70-acre parcel in Gurugram worth Rs 2,000 crore at today’s market rates.
Instead, attempts were made to “alienate” the land from legitimate buyers by allotting it to multiple investors and fabricating creditors for a “prepackaged” insolvency petition in front of the NCLT, as well as intentionally misrepresenting the list of plot buyers to a Supreme Court-appointed referee.
When plot buyers contested the company’s application before the NCLT, the promoters eventually withdrew it.
The ED found that the list of buyers submitted to the Justice Gita Mittal committee—the Supreme Court panel tasked with addressing claims—was manipulated for the promoters’ benefit.
Additionally, the ED identified some plot buyers who were not listed before the committee, underscoring the promoters’ fraudulent practices.
