Enforcement Directorate (File Photo | Express)
India

ED auctions seized Hawker 800A aircraft under anti-money laundering law for Rs 3 crore

The ED said the sale proceeds would go toward restituting investors, subject to approval from a special court under the anti-money-laundering law.

Express News Service

NEW DELHI: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has auctioned a seized Hawker 800A aircraft for Rs 3 crore. It is the first such sale of an aircraft under the anti-money laundering law.

They sold the jet through state-run MSTC Ltd on July 1. The aircraft was seized on March 7, 2025, from Rajiv Gandhi International Airport as part of a probe into an alleged Ponzi scheme run by Capital Protection Force Pvt Ltd and its chairman Amardeep Kumar.

The agency alleges Kumar, his company and others defrauded investors of about Rs 792 crore through a bogus invoice discounting scheme, promising high returns on funds that were never actually deployed in any such business.

An adjudicating authority under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) confirmed the seizure on August 18, 2025, and cleared the ED on November 20 to sell the aircraft after the agency sought permission under rules governing disposal of attached assets.

The ED said the sale proceeds would go toward restituting investors, subject to approval from a special court under the anti-money-laundering law.

The case stems from three police complaints filed by the Economic Offences Wing in Cyberabad against the Falcon Group, its promoters and associates.

The ED has previously arrested three people in the case: Kumar's brother Sandeep Kumar, chartered accountant Sharad Chandra Toshniwal and Falcon Invoice Discounting CEO Aryan Singh Chhabra.

The agency filed a prosecution complaint before a trial court on September 29, 2025.

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