Did the ED Really Attach Rs 1,200 Crore in Properties Linked to Builders and Auto Parts Firms in Gurugram?

Synopsis
Key Takeaways
- ED attaches properties worth Rs 1,200 crore linked to Ramprastha and Amtek Auto.
- Investigation initiated due to allegations of cheating homebuyers.
- Properties include vast land parcels in Gurugram and Haryana.
- Ongoing enforcement actions signal government commitment to financial accountability.
- Previous attachments have significantly increased the total value at stake.
Gurugram, July 12 (NationPress) The Enforcement Directorate's (ED) Gurugram Zonal Office has provisionally attached properties valued at Rs 681.54 crore and Rs 588.57 crore across two distinct money laundering cases associated with Ramprastha Promoters and Developers and Amtek Auto, according to a statement released on Saturday.
In the initial case, the ED has seized immovable assets belonging to Ramprastha Promoters due to allegations of defrauding homebuyers. Investigations revealed that RPDPL amassed Rs 1,100 crore from over 2,000 homebuyers but failed to deliver the promised projects in a timely manner.
The attached properties include two plotted colonies within Ramprastha City, covering 226 acres in Sector 37D, Sector 92, and Sector 95 of Gurugram, as well as land parcels totaling 1,700 acres located in Village Basai, Gadoli Kalan, Hayatpur, and Wazipur in Haryana, as stated by the ED.
An investigation was initiated under the PMLA, 2002, based on numerous FIRs filed by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) in New Delhi and Haryana Police.
The investigation revealed that various projects by RPDPL, including Project Edge, Project Skyz, Project Rise, and Ramprastha City (plotted colony project), were launched between 2008 and 2011, yet possession of flats and plots has not been granted to buyers.
In a second case, the Gurugram Zonal Office of the ED has provisionally attached both movable and immovable assets worth Rs 588.57 crore on July 10, related to a bank fraud case involving Amtek Auto Limited, ARG Limited, ACIL Limited, Metalyst Forging Limited, and Castex Technologies Limited, along with promoter Arvind Dham and others.
The immobilized properties include 28 acres of land in Hundewala, Ratuali, and Kansapur in Yamuna Nagar, and 67.5 acres in Kot and Khangesara villages of Panchkula, Haryana, along with additional assets in the Delhi/NCR region.
Moreover, the attached assets comprise fixed deposits totaling Rs 8.70 crore and shares valued at Rs 14.6 crore.
The recent action by the ED follows earlier provisional attachments amounting to Rs 5,115.31 crore on September 5, 2024, and Rs 557.49 crore on March 26, with the first attachment already affirmed by the PMLA Adjudicating Authority.
The cumulative attachment in this case now totals Rs 6,261.37 crore. The ED previously conducted searches at over 40 locations, resulting in the arrest of Arvind Dham and a prosecution complaint filed on September 6, 2024.
This investigation was initiated following directions from the Supreme Court on February 27, 2024, during a hearing of a PIL against the Amtek Auto group, alongside FIRs lodged by the CBI based on complaints by IDBI Bank and Bank of Maharashtra regarding the illicit diversion of bank loans.