The Enforcement Directorate has provisionally attached immovable properties worth over Rs 598 crore in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002. This action is linked to a case involving M/S Ansal Properties and Infrastructure Ltd. The ED’s investigation stemmed from an FIR filed by the CBI’s Anti-Corruption Branch in New Delhi on January 23, 2019.
The FIR, filed under sections 120-B and 420 of the Indian Penal Code and sections 13(2) read with 13(1)(d) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, targeted public servants and private builders, including Ansal Properties and Infrastructure Ltd. The case pertains to alleged irregularities in the acquisition and de-notification of land in Gurugram, Haryana, involving sectors 58 to 63 and 65 to 67.
According to the ED’s inquiry under the PMLA, Ansal Properties engaged in collaboration agreements and obtained a General Power of Attorney from individual landowners for land already under acquisition notification. These agreements exhibited significant lapses, such as the absence of consideration before the section 4 notification and subsequent modifications. The ED’s actions aim to prevent the proceeds of crime from circumventing legal processes and uphold accountability.
