ED restores ₹520.80 crore to claimant in Cox & Kings money laundering case

The ED has returned ₹520.80 crore to Macrotech Developers in a money-laundering case involving Cox & Kings, following a Supreme Court order.

MUMBAI: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has returned assets worth ₹520.80 crore to the legitimate claimant in its money-laundering probe against travel firm Cox & Kings Ltd (CKL), its promoters and associated entities. The restoration follows a Supreme Court order passed in proceedings related to the case, the agency said on Friday.

ED restores ₹520.80 crore to claimant in Cox & Kings money laundering case

According to investigators, CKL is accused of diverting around ₹4,100 crore, identified as proceeds of crime (PoC), through a complex web of transactions. Of this, ₹1,066 crore was allegedly siphoned off to V Hotels Ltd. The ED had attached assets valued at ₹520.80 crore, representing the outstanding PoC, under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The attachment was subsequently confirmed by the Adjudicating Authority under the Act.

V Hotels later entered the corporate insolvency resolution process under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), where Macrotech Developers Ltd was approved as the successful resolution applicant (SRA). During the ED’s Special Leave Petition before the Supreme Court, Macrotech deposited ₹520.80 crore in an interest-bearing fixed deposit with the State Bank of India. The deposit represented the substituted value of the properties attached earlier by the agency.

The ED informed the court that, in line with provisions of both the PMLA and the IBC, and in keeping with its stance in previous cases– it had agreed to the restitution of the deposit to the SRA. This was subject to Macrotech Developers having no links to the former management of CKL or to beneficiaries of the alleged proceeds of crime.

Accepting the position, the Supreme Court directed the restoration of the ₹520.80 crore, along with accrued interest, to Macrotech Developers under section 8(8) of the PMLA. The bench also recorded its appreciation of the ED’s efforts “in restoring the attached properties to secure the interests of justice.”

An ED official said the agency remains committed to pursuing confiscation of proceeds of crime, prosecuting those involved in money-laundering, and ensuring that assets are returned to rightful stakeholders wherever permitted under law.