ED arrests real estate tycoon Lalit Goyal over alleged money laundering case
IREO Group’s Lalit Goyal was taken into custody under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act in Chandigarh. He will be produced before a local court for seeking his remand
After several days of questioning, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday arrested Lalit Goyal, real estate tycoon and managing director of IREO group, in connection with an alleged money laundering probe.
The alleged case involves more than ₹2,600 crore, according to officials handling the investigation.
Goyal was taken into custody under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in Chandigarh. He will be produced before a local court for seeking his remand.
Goyal was stopped by immigration authorities last Thursday at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport based on an ED lookout notice against him.
“Real estate company IREO’s promoter Lalit Goyal was detained at the Delhi Airport by immigration officials and was handed over to the ED. He is being questioned and his statement is being recorded by the ED in a case of money laundering and diversion of funds of investors,” an ED official said.
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The ED said that during the probe, he didn’t cooperate and didn’t divulge any relevant information.
A special court has remanded him for seven days in ED custody.
Goyal’s name had earlier appeared in the Pandora Papers exposition.
Separately, the ED also raided the premises of the Ghosh Brothers Group of companies, a prominent business group handling multiple car dealerships in Guwahati, as part of a money-laundering probe linked to an alleged bank loan fraud.
During the investigation, the ED found that the Ghosh Brothers Group and its promoters Pranab Ghosh, Pratul Ghosh and Gita Rani Ghosh had allegedly diverted a part of the bank loan money after shuffling it between multiple accounts they handled.