NEW DELHI: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday attached properties worth Rs 10.86 crore in a land fraud case. The case relates to cheating homebuyers in Haryana.
“The probe led to attachment of flat and land worth Rs 6.06 Crore and cryptocurrencies lying in the crypto wallets in the shape of Ramifi Tokens worth Rs. 4.79 Crore,” the agency said.
The attachments were made under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002. The federal probing agency initiated the investigation based on an FIR registered by the Haryana Police against Sandeep Yadav, Manoj Yadav, and others.
Investigations revealed that Sandeep Yadav, along with Manoj Yadav and Mohan Sharma, allegedly acted in connivance with close associates to cheat members of the public and generated proceeds of crime which was invested in moveable and immovable assets, as well as cryptocurrencies.
During a detailed financial investigation, it was found that Sandeep Yadav and his associates allegedly cheated around 20 people by fraudulently selling plots and by luring investors with promises of unusually high returns through cryptocurrency investments and have generated proceeds of crime to the tune of Rs. 26.54 Crore.
“Several individuals were cheated by the accused persons by inducement through fraudulent sale/purchase transactions of properties and false assurances of high returns on cryptocurrency investments.
The cheated amount was siphoned off through third party bank accounts, which was subsequently withdrawn in cash. Most of the amounts were received/paid in cash,” the agency said.
Further investigation has revealed that Sandeep Yadav and his associates are habitual offenders, with multiple FIRs registered against them. They cheated people by making false promises related to sale of plots and high-return on investments. Earlier, searches conducted at 10 locations in this case led to the recovery of cryptocurrencies worth Rs. 17 Crore and the amount of Rs. 46 Lakh in various bank accounts linked to Sandeep Yadav and his associates, which was frozen under the provisions of PMLA, 2002.