NEW DELHI: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has accused the Unitech Group and its promoters of misappropriating nearly half of the over Rs 16,000 crore obtained from homebuyers and financial institutions for personal use and through various “benami” entities. This allegation was made in a recent chargesheet filed against them.
The third prosecution complaint (chargesheet) was submitted to a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Delhi on July 10. Unitech promoter Ramesh Chandra, along with linked companies like Shivalik Ventures Private Limited, Auram Asset Management Private Limited, Unitech Build Tech Limited, Unitech Golf Resorts Limited, and Ranchero Services Limited, have been named as defendants in the document.
With this latest chargesheet, the ED has now implicated a total of 105 individuals and entities in the case, while also attaching assets worth Rs 1,621.91 crore, which includes 1,291 properties. The investigation began after the agency registered a PMLA case in June 2018.
This probe into the Unitech Group and its promoters was initiated following FIRs lodged by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Delhi Police against Ramesh Chandra, his sons Sanjay and Ajay Chandra, and daughter-in-law Preeti Chandra (Sanjay’s wife).
“This complaint is part of an ongoing money-laundering investigation involving over 29,800 honest homebuyers who invested their life savings into attractive housing schemes/projects initiated by Unitech Limited,” the ED stated.
The promoters, in collaboration with co-conspirators, allegedly orchestrated a criminal conspiracy to deceive homebuyers by illicitly diverting, layering, and laundering invested funds. The agency stated that homebuyers were misled, as no houses were delivered even beyond the promised timelines.
The ED’s investigation revealed that out of the total Rs 16,075.89 crore collected by Unitech Limited from homebuyers and financial institutions, Rs 7,794.35 crore was “diverted” for unauthorized purposes.
According to the ED, Ramesh Chandra and his family allegedly redirected these funds into various benami firms and personal ventures for their own use. They misused venture capital intended for genuine real-estate activities.
The promoters laundered the “diverted” funds by transferring them to the UAE, then bringing them back to India via multiple “benami” entities and shell companies in the Cayman Islands and Singapore, the agency reported.
The Trikar Group was established by the Chandra family for this money-laundering scheme. The Chandras reportedly transferred “proceeds of crime” abroad and acquired assets under family members’ and benami entities’ names. Preeti Chandra allegedly purchased three flats in Dubai using these funds.
Furthermore, the agency claimed that the Chandras acquired shares in companies at “exorbitantly” inflated prices, forwarding these funds to Carnoustie Management Private Limited and the Shivalik Group.
