Sahara Group case: ED attaches 1,023 acres of land worth ₹1,538 cr

The land was purchased under benami names with funds diverted from Sahara group entities, said ED officials

MUMBAI: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has provisionally attached 1,023 acres of land across 16 cities in India, including Sindhudurg and Solapur in Maharashtra, as part of its money laundering probe against the Sahara group. The land was purchased under benami names with funds diverted from Sahara group entities, ED officials told Hindustan Times.

Last week, the ED provisionally attached 707 acres of land worth approximately ₹1,460 crore in and around Aamby Valley City in Lonavala, Pune as part of its probe.

The attached land is part of Sahara Prime City Limited and is worth around ₹1,538 crore, as per the 2016 circle rate. It includes 30.4 acres in Sindhudurg’s Dodamarg taluka, and 125.5 acres in Solapur near a national highway that connects with Mumbai, the ED said on Wednesday.

The agency began its investigation against the Sahara group based on three cheating cases registered against Humara India Credit Co-operative Society Ltd (HICCSL) by police in Odisha, Bihar and Rajasthan. The agency subsequently analysed over 500 first information reports (FIRs) registered against Sahara group entities, of which over 300 pertained to offences under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

The ED’s probe revealed that the Sahara group was running a Ponzi scheme through various entities such as HICCSL, Sahara Credit Cooperative Society Limited (SCCSL) and Saharayn Universal Multipurpose Cooperative Society (SUMCS), among others. The group had cheated depositors and agents by luring them with high returns and commissions, respectively, and utilised the funds in a non-regulated manner without intimating depositors, said ED officials.

The accused entities avoided repayment and instead forced depositors to redeposit their maturity amount, switching or transferring deposits from one scheme or entity to another, the ED officials noted. A part of the collected money was diverted for creating benami assets for funding the personal expenses and lavish lifestyle of certain accused, the officials added.

HT tried contacting officials of the Sahara group for comments regarding the latest attachment of land, but did not receive any response.

As part of its money laundering probe, the ED has recorded the statements of various persons, including depositors, agents and employees of the Sahara Group and other related persons. The agency had in July last year conducted searches in Mumbai, Kolkata and Lucknow, wherein ₹2.98 crore unaccounted cash was seized. Last week, the agency provisionally attached 707 acres of land worth approximately ₹1,460 crore in and around Aamby Valley City in Lonavala, Pune as part of the probe.