The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached 14 immovable properties valued at Rs 1,595.85 crore linked to Gian Sagar Educational & Charitable Trust in Ramnagar, Punjab. These properties were allegedly acquired using investor funds related to a Rs 48,000 crore Ponzi scheme of Pearl Agrotech. The ED took this action under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act in connection with an ongoing investigation into a large-scale investment fraud.
The ED’s Delhi Zonal Office undertook the attachment under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002. This move is part of the investigation into a collective investment scheme operated by Pearl Agrotech Corporation Limited (PACL) Ltd. and associated entities. The ED’s action follows an FIR registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in New Delhi under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code.
According to the charge sheets, the accused entities and individuals allegedly ran an illegal collective investment scheme that fraudulently collected over Rs 48,000 crore from numerous investors nationwide. Investors were lured into investing through deceptive schemes and documents, with a significant amount of the promised land never being delivered. The ED’s investigation has uncovered a complex web of transactions aimed at concealing the fraud and illicitly benefiting the perpetrators.
The ED’s probe revealed that funds diverted from PACL, which were originally obtained from unsuspecting investors, were used to finance the land and infrastructure of Gian Sagar Educational & Charitable Trust. With this recent attachment, the ED has now attached movable and immovable assets totaling around Rs 28,626 crore, including assets both in India and overseas.
