NEW DELHI: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached properties worth Rs. 598 crore in Agra in a money laundering case against Ansal Properties and Infrastructure Ltd, the agency said.
ED initiated an investigation based on an FIR registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on the directions of the Supreme Court.
The case pertains to large-scale irregularities in the acquisition and subsequent release of land in Sectors 58 to 63 and 65 to 67, Gurugram, Haryana.
Land was originally notified for acquisition under Sections 4 and 6 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, for stated public purposes such as development by HUDA and creation of a land bank.
“However, most of such land was subsequently released in favour of private colonisers through a fraudulent and collusive process. Such actions undermined statutory safeguards governing land acquisition and compromised the transparency expected in matters involving public purpose by the state government,” the agency said.
During the probe, the agency found that the firm entered into collaboration agreements and obtained General Power of Attorneys (GPAs) from individual landowners in respect of land already notified for acquisition.
These agreements were found to suffer from serious irregularities, including the absence of consideration prior to the issuance of Section 4 notification, lack of essential contractual terms, and post-facto alterations.
Investigation further indicates that, following the issuance of acquisition notifications by the state government, the notified status of the land created uncertainty and directly weakened the bargaining position of individual landowners.
“In such circumstances, transfers were facilitated in favour of private colonisers at rates substantially below prevailing market value, resulting in wrongful gain to the company and corresponding financial detriment to the affected landholders,” the agency said.
Based on such arrangements, licenses were granted to APIL by the Department of Town and Country Planning (DTCP), Haryana, for development of residential plotted colonies over 142.306 acres of land in village Badshahpur, Gurugram.
Out of the total collaborated land, 42.751 acres of notified land were released from acquisition proceedings for the grant of licenses.
The licensed land has been utilised for the development of projects “Esencia” and “Versalia.” As the land has been fully developed and sold to third-party buyers, it no longer retains its original physical identity. Therefore, to protect innocent homebuyers and avoid disturbance to occupied projects, and as the direct Proceeds of Crime are no longer available, ED has provisionally attached alternative immovable properties in various villages of Agra, Uttar Pradesh.
These properties are held in the names of associate companies and individuals acting on behalf of APIL.
Investigation has established that these entities were created and used as land-holding vehicles, while the entire funding, control and beneficial ownership vested with APIL.