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PMLA Case: ED attaches ₹3,400-cr Pearls Group assets in Ludhiana
The latest action has taken the total value of assets attached so far in the case to ₹5,602 crore, the agency said. In a statement, the ED said it has provisionally attached 169 immovable properties in Ludhiana, valued at ₹3,436.56 crore, under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
The Enforcement Directorate on Thursday said it has attached fresh properties worth over ₹3,400 crore as part of its money laundering probe against Chandigarh-based Pearls Agrotech Corporation Limited (PACL), which is accused of orchestrating a ₹48,000 crore Ponzi scheme.
The latest action has taken the total value of assets attached so far in the case to ₹5,602 crore, the agency said. In a statement, the ED said it has provisionally attached 169 immovable properties in Ludhiana, valued at ₹3,436.56 crore, under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
The ED probe stems from a CBI case against the PACL, its late promoter Nirmal Singh Bhangoo and some others. Bhangoo died in August last year. The PACL is accused of perpetrating “fraudulent” collective investment schemes through which the company and its associates allegedly raised and misappropriated around ₹48,000 crore from investors across the country.
A part of these funds was used for the acquisition of these 169 assets, the ED said. “With the latest attachment, the total value of movable and immovable properties attached so far in the case stands at around ₹5,602 crore, including domestic properties spread across India as well as foreign assets,” the ED said. The ED has filed three chargesheets till now as part of its investigation.
