ED registers 9 Heera Group properties worth ₹103.26 crore in Ponzi restitution drive
Synopsis
Nine Heera Group properties worth ₹103.26 crore have now been registered by ED in Hyderabad — including high-value Banjara Hills assets Karvy Centre and Naina Towers — as the Supreme Court-mandated restitution drive for victims of a ₹5,978 crore Ponzi scheme gathers pace. With over ₹428 crore still attached but yet to be auctioned, the scale of what remains is far larger than what has been recovered so far.
Key Takeaways
ED Hyderabad has completed registration of nine properties worth ₹103.26 crore in the Heera Group Ponzi case .
The latest two properties — Karvy Centre and Naina Towers , Banjara Hills — were registered on 16 October 2026 for ₹88.23 crore .
Earlier, seven properties were registered on 5 October 2026 for ₹15.03 crore .
Heera Group allegedly collected over ₹5,978 crore from investors by promising annual returns exceeding 36% .
ED has issued five Provisional Attachment Orders covering properties valued at ₹428.83 crore .
All auction proceeds will be transferred to SFIO for disbursement to genuine victims, per Supreme Court directions.
The Directorate of Enforcement (ED), Hyderabad Zonal Office, has completed the registration of nine immovable properties aggregating ₹103.26 crore in connection with the Heera Group Ponzi case, as part of a Supreme Court-mandated drive to return funds to defrauded investors. The latest registrations, completed on Friday, 16 October 2026, cover Karvy Centre and Naina Towers, both located at Banjara Hills, Hyderabad, valued at ₹88.23 crore.
How the Registrations Unfolded
The two latest properties — Karvy Centre and Naina Towers at Banjara Hills — bring the total tally to nine, following the earlier registration of seven properties on 5 October 2026 for ₹15.03 crore. Those seven comprised six flats at H.S. Royal, Shaikpet Village, Hyderabad, and one house at MLA Colony, Road No. 12, Banjara Hills, Hyderabad. The October 6 auction that produced those seven properties was itself conducted pursuant to Supreme Court directions.
According to a release issued by the agency, all auction proceeds will be transferred to the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) for onward disbursement to genuine victims and claimants, in line with the court's mandate.
Scale of the Fraud and ED's Action
ED's investigation under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002 revealed that the accused entities had collected investments exceeding ₹5,978 crore from the public by promising annual returns of over 36%, but subsequently defaulted on repayments. The agency has issued five Provisional Attachment Orders covering properties valued at ₹428.83 crore and filed prosecution complaints before the Special Court under PMLA, Hyderabad.
Notably, the total attached portfolio of ₹428.83 crore dwarfs the ₹103.26 crore realised so far, signalling that further auctions are still to come. ED has confirmed it will continue auctioning remaining attached properties to maximise restitution.
Supreme Court's Role and Nowhera Shaik's Custody
The auctions flow from a Supreme Court order dated 5 March 2025, which allowed ED's application to auction attached immovable properties belonging to Nowhera Shaik, Heera Group of Companies, and others. The court subsequently directed the Registrar General, Telangana High Court, to depute T. Venkateshwar Rao, Registrar (Protocol), for execution of sale deeds on behalf of the petitioner-accused.
Nowhera Shaik, whose bail was cancelled by the Supreme Court, was apprehended by ED on 21 May 2026 and remains in judicial custody. This comes amid a broader judicial push to expedite restitution in large-scale financial fraud cases, where victims often wait years to recover even a fraction of their investments.
What Victims Can Expect Next
Auction proceeds will flow through SFIO before reaching eligible claimants, a process that may take additional time given the verification requirements. ED stated that further investigation is in progress and that the auction of remaining attached properties will continue. With ₹428.83 crore worth of properties still under attachment, the restitution exercise is far from over — and how quickly SFIO processes and disburses funds will determine when victims see relief.
Point of View
But the journey from attachment to actual victim restitution takes years. With ₹103.26 crore registered against a ₹5,978 crore fraud, victims have recovered less than 2% of alleged losses so far — and that figure depends on SFIO's disbursement speed, which has historically been slow. The Supreme Court's hands-on role in directing auctions and sale-deed execution is an unusual judicial intervention that reflects how badly the system has failed ordinary investors. The real accountability question is not just whether ED attaches enough assets, but whether the end-to-end pipeline — attachment, auction, SFIO processing, disbursement — can be made faster and more transparent.
NationPress
16 Oct 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Heera Group Ponzi case?
The Heera Group Ponzi case involves allegations that Nowhera Shaik's Heera Group of Companies collected investments exceeding ₹5,978 crore from the public by promising annual returns of over 36%, but subsequently defaulted on repayments. ED is investigating under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, and has filed prosecution complaints before a Special Court in Hyderabad.
Which properties were registered by ED in the latest round?
ED registered two properties — Karvy Centre and Naina Towers, both located at Banjara Hills, Hyderabad — on 16 October 2026, for a combined consideration of ₹88.23 crore. Together with seven properties registered on 5 October 2026 for ₹15.03 crore, the total now stands at nine properties worth ₹103.26 crore.
Where will the auction proceeds go?
The auction proceeds will be transferred to the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) for onward disbursement to genuine victims and claimants, as directed by the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court mandated this restitution mechanism in its order dated 5 March 2025.
What is the current status of Nowhera Shaik?
Nowhera Shaik, the accused in the Heera Group case, had her bail cancelled by the Supreme Court. She was apprehended by ED on 21 May 2026 and remains in judicial custody as of the latest reports.
How much of the attached assets has been auctioned so far?
ED has issued five Provisional Attachment Orders covering properties valued at ₹428.83 crore. Of this, nine properties aggregating ₹103.26 crore have been auctioned and registered so far. The agency has confirmed it will continue auctioning the remaining attached properties.
