In a major escalation of its crackdown on a colossal investment fraud, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has seized properties valued at over Rs 3,400 crore linked to Pearl Agro Corporation Ltd (PACL) and its promoter, Nirmal Singh Bhangoo, located in Ludhiana. This action is part of an ongoing money laundering investigation into a scheme that allegedly duped millions of investors.
The Core of the Alleged Fraud
The federal probe agency stated that PACL and its promoters had collected a staggering sum of more than Rs 48,000 crore from the public through a multi-level marketing scheme. Investigators allege that these funds, mobilised from lakhs of investors, were then laundered to acquire high-value properties both within India and overseas.
The latest provisional attachment covers 169 properties currently held in the name of PACL, with a present market value of Rs 3,436.56 crore. "Investigation revealed that part of the funds mobilised from lakhs of investors were utilised for the acquisition of these properties," the ED said in its official statement on Thursday.
Expanding Web of Attachments and Arrests
With this fresh action, the total value of attached properties in this case has now ballooned to over Rs 5,600 crore. This includes several assets located in Australia, which were attached earlier. The ED's probe is based on a First Information Report (FIR) originally registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) against PACL, Bhangoo, and others for their alleged involvement in running fraudulent investment schemes.
The agency has been actively pursuing the money trail. Earlier in March, the ED arrested Harsatinder Pal Singh, Bhangoo's son-in-law. He is accused of being instrumental in laundering the proceeds of the crime and purchasing properties worth over Rs 460 crore in Australia, which were subsequently attached by the authorities.
The Road to Restitution for Investors
In a move to provide relief to the victims, the ED initiated restitution proceedings last year. The aim is to return the lost money to nearly six crore investors who were affected by the scheme. The agency has already shared details of attached assets belonging to the Pearl Agro group worth Rs 700 crore with the Justice Lodha committee.
This committee was appointed by the Supreme Court specifically to oversee the disposal of confiscated assets in the PACL case and ensure the restitution of funds to the victims. The scale of the fraud was earlier highlighted when the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) banned the Pearl group for illegally collecting Rs 49,100 crore from an estimated 59 million investors over a period of 18 years.
The ED has filed three prosecution complaints (chargesheets) in the case so far, indicating the complexity and vast scope of the financial investigation.
