Kolkata, March 3 (NationPress) In a new development regarding the Sahara Prime City land case, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted extensive raids across several locations in Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, and Karnataka. The operations, which took place on February 2, resulted in the seizure of valuable electronic evidence, according to an official announcement on Tuesday.

The ED's Kolkata Zonal Office executed search activities in Anantapur (Andhra Pradesh), Ballari (Karnataka), and both Bhubaneswar and Berhampur in Odisha, as detailed in an ED statement.

During these operations, critical digital evidence, including WhatsApp conversations, contact details, and call logs, were recovered and confiscated, the agency reported.

Additionally, the ED seized financial records and accounting books of the implicated entities along with other incriminating documents for further scrutiny.

Statements from various individuals were recorded under Section 17 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, as per the ED.

The searches are linked to the illicit sale of a land parcel owned by Sahara Prime City Limited in Berhampur, Odisha. These activities were conducted under Section 17(1) of the PMLA, 2002, as part of an ongoing investigation concerning Humara India and others, stated the ED.

Evidence gathered during the investigation indicated that approximately 32 acres (out of a total of 43 acres) of land in Berhampur were fraudulently sold in December 2025, based on a revoked Board Resolution, favoring a Sahara employee and disregarding Supreme Court guidelines.

The ED further revealed that this sale was executed under the orders of senior management within the Sahara Group. Notably, discrepancies were found between the declared sale price and the assessed market value.

Previously, the ED initiated this investigation following FIRs lodged under Sections 420 and 120B of the IPC, 1860, against Humara India Credit Cooperative Society Limited (HICCSL) and others across multiple states.

Over 500 FIRs have been filed against various entities associated with the Sahara Group, with more than 300 involving scheduled offenses under the PMLA. Allegations point to widespread fraud against depositors through coerced redeposits and failure to honor maturity payments.

The investigation by the ED uncovered that the Sahara Group operated a Ponzi scheme, managing collected funds in an unregulated manner devoid of depositor oversight. Instead of repaying maturity proceeds, these funds were reinvested, and accounts were manipulated to disguise non-repayments.

Transactions between group entities indicated a significant transfer of liabilities without any sound commercial rationale, as reported by the central agency.

Ultimately, substantial debts were recorded across four cooperative societies. Despite facing financial incapacity, the Sahara Group continued to solicit new deposits. The ongoing non-repayment of matured deposits has led to an astronomical increase in outstanding liabilities, which now includes a substantial interest component, compared to the original principal collected from depositors.

Additionally, it was uncovered that a significant portion of deposits was misappropriated to create benami assets, extend loans, and for personal misuse, thereby denying depositors their rightful dues.

In connection with this case, five provisional attachment orders have been issued, targeting multiple land parcels owned by the Sahara Group, including benami properties and assets belonging to other individuals.

So far, three individuals have been arrested in this case, namely Anil Vailaparampil Abraham and O.P. Srivastav, who currently remain in judicial custody. Both a charge sheet and a supplementary charge sheet have been filed earlier by the ED.