ED attaches properties worth Rs. 300.11 crore of M3M Infrastructures Private Ltd in money laundering case
The agency attached immovable properties spanning 88.29 acres
New Delhi, August 27
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached immovable properties spanning 88.29 acres and valued at Rs. 834 crore of M3M Infrastructures Private Ltd in connection with an alleged money laundering case.
The properties are located in 20 villages across Gurugram and Delhi.
The case alleges that EMAAR-MGF, in collusion with Hooda and Director DTCP Trilok Chand Gupta, acquired land at undervalued prices, resulting in significant losses to both the public and the government.
ED initiated the investigation on the basis of a FIR registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, and the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, based on allegations against Bhupinder Singh Hooda, the then Chief Minister of Haryana, Trilok Chand Gupta, then Director of DTCP, R S Infrastructure Pvt Ltd (RSIPL), and 14 other coloniser companies.
The ED stated that the alleged case involves cheating various landowners, the public at large, the state of Haryana, and the Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA), by getting issued notification under section 4 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 (LA Act), and subsequently under section 6 of LA Act for acquisition of lands of respective landowners, which compelled landowners to sell their land to said coloniser companies at a lower price than the prevailing price before the notification under section 4 of LA Act.
The accused allegedly, fraudulently, and dishonestly obtained Letter of Intents (LOIs) and licences on the notified land, causing loss to the respective landowners, the public at large, and the state of Haryana and HUDA, while wrongfully gaining for themselves, officials further said.
According the ED's probe, RSIPL, a company beneficially owned by Basant Bansal and Roop Bansal, promoters of M3M group, allegedly colluded with the persons mentioned in the FIR and unlawfully got approved licences for land measuring 10.35 acres for establishing a commercial colony, by classifying their case as "a case of extreme hardship" without legal basis.
The officials said that after securing licences to establish a commercial colony, the promoters of RSIPL allegedly did not develop a commercial colony, which was a precondition for obtaining the licences. Later they reportedly sold the company's shares and assets, including the said licenced land for a staggering sum of ₹726 crore to Lowe Realty Private Limited, an entity of Religare Group.
