New Delhi, Dec 26 (PTI) The Enforcement Directorate Thursday said it has attached fresh assets of a company providing amusement and recreation services by freezing 42 acres of land in Haryana’s Gurugram, worth more than Rs 120 crore, as part of a money laundering investigation.
A provisional order for attachment has been issued under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) against the company named International Recreation and Amusement Limited (IRAL). The company which ran the ‘Appu Ghar’ amusement facility in Gurugram is currently undergoing insolvency proceedings, the federal agency said in a statement.
The assets that have been attached include 25 acres of land in sector 29 of Gurugram and another 17 acres of land in sector 52-A of the same city along with unfinished building structure, it said.
The total value of these assets is Rs 120.98 crore.
The federal agency, in May, had attached properties worth Rs 291 crore as part of this probe.
The money laundering case stems from “several FIRs” registered by the Gurugram police against IRAL, its promoters and linked persons like Rakesh Babbar, Gyan Vijeshwar, Robin Vijeshwar and some others for “cheating and criminal conspiracy”.
IRAL, the ED alleged, had collected more than Rs 400 crore from around 1,500 investors by promising them allocation of retail shops/virtual space in Sector 29 and 52-A, Gurugram.
However, the said entity “failed” to deliver the project and “missed’ deadlines. Also, monthly assured return payments to the investors were “not paid”, the agency claimed.
The company or its promoters could not be reached for a comment.
The ED said the promoters “siphoned off” the investors’ funds and parked them with associated persons and entities which were used for personal gains.
Back-dated agreements were executed between the promoter directors and EOD (buying entity) in order to “eliminate” the business advance from IRAL’s balance sheet, enabling the departing directors to “evade” their responsibilities towards IRAL, the agency said.
It said the attachment order has been issued to “secure” the assets of the corporate debtor, IRAL, after investigation found that the disciplinary committee of IBBI (Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India) had “suspended” the Resolution Professional on “serious” allegations.
“The PMLA investigations revealed that no resolution plan has taken place even after six years of initiation of CIRP (corporate insolvency resolution process) proceedings adversely affecting the interest of the investors,” the ED said. PTI NES KVK KVK
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