NEW DELHI: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday arrested Manoj Gaur, former chairman and managing director of Jaypee Infratech Ltd (JIL), on money-laundering charges linked to the diversion of funds collected from homebuyers. The agency has secured his five-day custody for questioning.
Gaur, also the former executive chairman and CEO of Jaiprakash Associates Ltd (JAL), is the builder behind the 165-km Yamuna Expressway and several major projects across the National Capital Region. Officials said his arrest followed a detailed investigation and analysis of financial evidence collected during the ongoing probe under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
The money-laundering probe stems from multiple FIRs filed by the Economic Offences Wings of Delhi and Uttar Pradesh Police on complaints by homebuyers of Jaypee Wishtown and Jaypee Greens projects. They alleged that funds collected for housing construction were diverted for other purposes, leaving thousands of homebuyers stranded.
According to the ED, around ₹14,599 crore collected from buyers by JAL and JIL was diverted for non-construction purposes and siphoned off to related entities and trusts, including Jaypee Sewa Sansthan (JSS), Jaypee Healthcare Ltd (JHL) and Jaypee Sports International Ltd (JSIL). Gaur, who is the managing trustee of JSS, allegedly benefited from the diverted funds.
In May this year the agency carried out searches at 15 locations in Delhi, Noida, Ghaziabad and Mumbai, including the offices of JAL and JIL, seizing a large volume of financial and digital records. Officials said the investigation has revealed Gaur’s central role in planning and executing the alleged fund diversion through a complex web of internal transactions within the Jaypee Group and its associated firms.