The Enforcement Directorate on Tuesday slapped a Rs 8,600-crore showcause notice on construction major Emmar MGF Land Ltd and its sister firms for alleged forex rules violation, the biggest such penal action in country's real estate sector.

The agency, which began an investigation in 2010 with regard to the group bringing in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), alleged that the firm has violated the rules stipulated by the RBI in this regard and hence it stands guilty of "contravention of foreign exchange rules" stipulated under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA).

The agency claimed to have found in its probe that the group used the funds for purchasing agricultutral land.