The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has provisionally attached 247 immovable properties valued at Rs 10,021.46 crore in relation to an extensive financial fraud case involving PACL Ltd and associated entities. This represents the highest single provisional attachment both in terms of monetary value and the number of properties involved. The attached assets are situated across multiple locations in Punjab, including SAS Nagar, Rupnagar, Zirakpur, and Mohali. The action was taken under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.

Investors’ Money Misappropriated

According to the ED, the 247 properties in question were identified as having been purchased with funds raised from investors, which are classified as Proceeds of Crime. Following this recent attachment, the ED has now seized movable and immovable properties totaling roughly Rs 17,610 crore. This figure includes assets located both within India and internationally. An official from the ED highlighted that this action marks a significant milestone in their ongoing investigations.

Background of the Investigation

The Delhi Zonal Office-II of the ED carried out the attachment based on an investigation that originated from an FIR registered on February 19, 2014, by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). This FIR was filed under Sections 120-B and 420 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, following directives from the Supreme Court of India. The CBI subsequently submitted a charge sheet and supplementary charge sheet against 33 individuals and entities implicated in the illegal investment scheme.

Scheme and Investor Inducements

The charge sheets prepared by the CBI detailed how the accused parties conducted a large-scale fraudulent collective investment scheme, collecting over Rs 48,000 crore from numerous investors across the country under the false premise of land sale and development. The investors were enticed to participate through cash down and installment payment models, often compelled to sign deceptive documents that included agreements and powers of attorney.

Failure to Deliver Promised Land

The ED indicated that in many instances, promised land was never actually delivered, and approximately Rs 48,000 crore remains outstanding to investors. The fraudulent operation used multiple front entities and reverse sale transactions to mask the fraudulent activities while generating illicit profits.

Supreme Court Intervention

Following the registration of the FIR, the Supreme Court of India issued an order on February 2, 2016, instructing the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to establish a committee under the leadership of former Chief Justice R. M. Lodha to oversee the sale of land purchased by PACL and ensure proceeds were returned to investors. However, ongoing investigations revealed continued unauthorized depletion of PACL assets, prompting the Punjab Vigilance Bureau, as well as police stations in Jaipur and Bengaluru, to file three additional FIRs concerning illegal sales, encroachments, and misuse of land acquired through investor funds.

Evidence of Systematic Fraud

The agency has reported that searches conducted in connection with these cases resulted in the confiscation of incriminating evidence, such as blank sale deeds, signed cheque books, and identity documents. These findings suggest coordinated efforts to misappropriate and dispose of ill-gotten gains. The ED initiated an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) in 2016 and has since filed a Prosecution Complaint in 2018, along with three supplementary complaints in 2022, 2025, and 2026, targeting various individuals and entities involved in laundering the Proceeds of Crime. The special court handling PMLA cases has acknowledged all prosecution complaints filed to date.

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