New Delhi/Aizawl, March 25 (NationPress) The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has provisionally seized movable and immovable assets valued at Rs 21.65 crore from various car dealers and individuals linked to a fraudulent vehicle loan scheme involving Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services Limited (MMFSL).

This action was taken under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA), as stated by the central investigation agency on Wednesday.

The ED's Aizawl Sub-Zonal Office provisionally seized assets amounting to approximately Rs 21.65 crore from multiple car dealers and individuals under the PMLA connected to a fraudulent vehicle loan scheme executed at the Aizawl Branch of MMFSL.

The investigation was prompted by two FIRs filed by the Mizoram Police based on complaints from MMFSL officials, as per an official release.

The initial offences include criminal conspiracy, cheating, forgery, and document fabrication under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, 1860.

Evidence uncovered revealed that Jakir Habibur Hussain, the former Area Business Manager of MMFSL's Aizawl Branch, colluded with four car dealers and other accomplices to execute a large-scale fraud by approving and processing fake vehicle loans from 2019 to 2024.

Fraudulent customer profiles were generated using tampered government documents, including Voter IDs, Aadhaar cards, and income certificates.

Loan funds were transferred to the car dealers' accounts based on delivery orders submitted through the MMFSL portal, yet no vehicles were sold or delivered, according to the statement.

To hide and launder the proceeds of their criminal activities, the perpetrators established two fictitious entities, “Mahindra Finance Limited” and “Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services”, opening fraudulent bank accounts with Mizoram Rural Bank under these names.

Car dealers then funneled large portions of the fraud proceeds into these fake accounts, withdrawing funds in cash that were then used to pay EMIs on the fictitious loans, creating a façade of legitimate loan servicing.

In an initial Provisional Attachment Order dated March 7, 2025, the ED attached movable assets valued at around Rs 9.89 crore, which included two vehicles (Kia Seltos and Hyundai Alcazar).

This attachment was later confirmed by the Adjudicating Authority (PMLA), New Delhi, through an order issued on August 19, 2025.

The current Provisional Attachment Order encompasses 12 immovable properties worth about Rs 19.68 crore and six bank accounts/fixed deposits worth approximately Rs 1.96 crore, summing up to around Rs 21.65 crore.

The seized immovable properties are located in Aizawl, Mizoram, and in Tezpur, Nagaon, and Silchar, Assam.

The investigation revealed a complex scheme of layering involving mule bank accounts opened under the names of low-level MMFSL employees, such as office boys and cleaners, who, under Jakir Hussain's directives, received deposits from the fraudulent Mahindra accounts and withdrew cash for him.

The financial trail exposed the intentional undervaluation of registered sale deeds and the acquisition of properties in benami names to obscure Jakir Hussain's actual ownership.

With this latest attachment, the total value of properties provisionally seized in this case has surpassed Rs 31 crore.

The investigation is ongoing.