Jaipur, Jan 23 (NationPress) The Enforcement Directorate (ED) Jaipur Zonal Office has provisionally attached 37 immovable properties and one movable property valued at Rs 15.97 crore under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) concerning the Apexa Group fraud case, as stated in an official announcement on Friday.

The attachment order was executed on Thursday.

According to the ED, the attached immovable properties include agricultural and residential land owned by Murli Manohar Namdev, Durga Shankar Merotha, Anil Kumar, Giriraj Nayak, Shobha Rani, and others. These properties are situated in the districts of Bundi, Baran, and Kota in Rajasthan.

The movable property attached consists of a bank account associated with the Apexa Group, holding funds amounting to Rs 1.50 crore.

The investigation was initiated by the ED based on multiple FIRs filed by the Rajasthan Police against Namdev and others, alleging that the Apexa Group had fraudulently amassed Rs 194.76 crore from numerous investors through deceitful investment schemes.

The inquiry revealed that Namdev, in conspiracy with his associates, intentionally crafted and promoted fraudulent schemes under the name of the Apexa Group with criminal intent.

"These schemes promised extraordinarily high returns to entice unsuspecting individuals. There was no valid basis or legitimate financial support for the promised returns, nor any feasible method to generate such profits quickly," the ED stated.

The agency further disclosed that from 2012 to 2020, the accused continued to draw funds by offering nominal returns to investors, either by redistributing money collected from new investors or by convincing existing investors to reinvest their returns, creating a misleading impression of profitable operations.

However, the ED emphasized that these schemes were fundamentally unsustainable and destined to fail. The situation deteriorated during the Covid-19 pandemic, when many investors demanded repayment of their principal amounts along with the promised returns.

"At this point, the Apexa Group, spearheaded by Murli Manohar Namdev and his associates, failed to meet the repayment requests, resulting in the schemes' collapse and significant losses for investors," the agency reported.

The ED noted that the funds raised were primarily redirected towards acquiring immovable properties and establishing new business ventures to benefit the personal financial interests of the accused and their associates, instead of generating legitimate returns.

Further investigations into the matter are ongoing.