The Enforcement Directorate logo.
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New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday said it has attached fresh properties worth over Rs 1,986 crore as part of its money laundering investigation against Chandigarh-based PACL (Pearls Group), accused of orchestrating a Rs 48,000 crore Ponzi scheme.
The latest action has taken the total value of assets attached so far in the case to Rs 7,589 crore.
In a statement, the agency said it has provisionally attached 37 immovable properties, located in Punjab's Ludhiana and Jaipur in Rajasthan, valued at Rs 1,986.48 crore, under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
A part of the alleged illicit funds generated from this fraud was used for the acquisition of these 37 assets, it said.
The ED probe stems from a CBI case against PACL Ltd, its late promoter Nirmal Singh Bhangoo and some others.
Bhangoo died in August 2024.
The accused entities and individuals of PACL operated an "illegal" collective investment scheme, fraudulently mobilising over Rs 60,000 crore from lakhs of investors across India under the guise of sale and development of agricultural land, as per the ED.
Investors were induced to invest through cash down payment and instalment payment plans and were made to sign "misleading" documents, including agreements, powers of attorney, and other instruments, it said.
"In the majority of cases, no land was ever delivered, and approximately Rs 48,000 crore remains unpaid to investors," the agency said.
Three charge sheets have been filed by the ED till now as part of this case registered in 2016.