ED attaches over 1000 acres of land of a company accused of illegal financial dealings

The ED says the action has been taken under the provisions of the PMLA Act. File
| Photo Credit: PTI

The Directorate of Enforcement, Bhubaneswar Zonal Office, has attached assets belonging to the Golden Land Group of Companies, including 1,000 acres of land spread across Odisha and Andhra Pradesh. The current market value of the attached assets is estimated at ₹1,413 crore.

The ED says the action has been taken under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002. The Golden Land Group of Companies was accused of illegally and fraudulently raising amounts of money without statutory approval.

“The assets include bank balances amounting to ₹15.06 crore available in various accounts and landed properties admeasuring 1000 acres approximately in various districts of Odisha and Andhra Pradesh,” says the agency in a statement on Tuesday.

“The immovable assets attached also include some constructed buildings and structures. Present market value of immovable assets attached is to the tune of ₹1,413 crore,” it pointed out.

The ED had initiated investigation on the basis of FIR registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation under various section of IPC, 1860 against Golden Land Group of Companies and others.

“ED investigation revealed that suspect persons, entities and companies associated with Golden Land Developers Limited and GLP Developers Limited without having any statutory authority and approval of the regulatory authorities such as Reserve Bank of India, Securities and Exchange Board of India and Registrar of Companies have illegally and fraudulently raised huge amounts of money from public from the state of Odisha and Andhra Pradesh,” an official statement said.

The ED further said it was carried out in the garb of real estate development and illegal financial businesses of lump sum deposits, recurring deposits and monthly investment schemes in the guise of plot booking by alluring the innocent depositors through the false promise of higher returns against the deposits made in the group companies.

“Large scale diversion of cash to sister concerns and to the accounts of directors and associates has also been unearthed,” it revealed.

Earlier, the ED had carried out search operations against promoters and directors and owners of these related groups of companies at various locations in Odisha, Punjab, Chandigarh and Delhi.