The Enforcement Directorate has returned immovable properties worth approximately Rs 650 crore to 2,312 genuine homebuyers linked to the money laundering investigation involving the SRS Group. This action follows a court order from March 11 by the special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Gurugram, permitting the release of attached properties to rightful claimants who suffered losses due to the alleged fraud. The restored assets comprise flats and plots from various SRS Group projects like SRS City, SRS Pearl Floor, and SRS Residency.
The move aims to ensure that the “proceeds of crime” are given back to legitimate claimants after verifying claims made by affected homebuyers. Previously, the Enforcement Directorate had already returned 78 flats valued at about Rs 20.15 crore to authentic homebuyers. With this recent order, the total worth of properties restored in this case has now reached around Rs 670 crore. The money laundering probe against the SRS Group stemmed from 81 FIRs filed by authorities in Faridabad and Delhi, as well as by the CBI, alleging a fraud of approximately Rs 2,200 crore.
Allegedly, the group enticed investors and homebuyers with promises of high returns on investments in residential and commercial projects. The funds collected were purportedly funneled through numerous shell companies and subsequently laundered. The Enforcement Directorate had previously issued a provisional attachment order for assets exceeding Rs 2,215 crore in this case and had filed a prosecution complaint before the PMLA court in Gurugram. This recent restitution is expected to facilitate the return of attached properties to other legitimate claimants, including banks and financial institutions, marking a significant stride towards delivering justice to the numerous homebuyers impacted by the purported fraud.
