ED orders transfer of ₹52.31 crore assets to Aryarup scam victims

According to ED investigations, Aryarup promoters, along with its associates, lured investors with promises of high returns but ultimately failed to deliver. Instead, the company’s promoters allegedly diverted and laundered the collected funds, using them to acquire immovable properties across multiple locations

MUMBAI: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday handed over movable and immovable assets worth ₹52.31 crore to the Competent Authority under the Maharashtra Protection of Interests of Depositors (MPID) Act, 1999. The assets, originally confiscated under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), were linked to Aryarup Tourism and Club Resort Pvt Ltd, a company accused of defrauding investors through fraudulent investment schemes.

ED orders transfer of ₹52.31 crore assets to Aryarup scam victims

According to ED investigations, Aryarup promoters, along with its associates, lured investors with promises of high returns but ultimately failed to deliver. Instead, the company’s promoters allegedly diverted and laundered the collected funds, using them to acquire immovable properties across multiple locations. A significant portion of the illicit funds was also parked in benami accounts. “In the case of Aryarup Tourism and Club Resort Pvt Ltd, ED has restituted movable and immovable properties worth ₹52.31 crore to the Competent Authority, MPID, appointed by the Government of Maharashtra,” an ED official confirmed.

ED’s restitution comes after a prolonged investigation and legal proceedings. Restitution, a court-ordered payment from offenders will help the victims by providing compensation for the scam.

The agency had earlier attached properties valued at ₹29.20 crore in Rajasthan and Thane through three separate orders issued between 2013 and 2014. Following this, a prosecution complaint was filed in the special PMLA court on April 3, 2014. Subsequently, on April 7, 2021, the court ordered the confiscation of these assets by the Central Government.

Meanwhile, hundreds of defrauded investors awaited compensation for their losses. In response to their plight, the ED held discussions with the Competent Authority under the MPID Act and encouraged it to file a restitution application before the PMLA court. Consequently, the Competent Authority sought a modification of the April 7, 2021, order, requesting that the seized assets be transferred to the MPID for investor restitution.

Recognising the need to protect the interests of depositors, the ED supported this application by submitting an affidavit to the special court in Mumbai. Acting on the ED’s recommendation, the court, in its latest order issued on Tuesday, approved the transfer of assets worth ₹52.31 crore to the Competent Authority under the MPID Act, 1999.