LUCKNOW: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has provisionally attached an immovable property worth Rs 54.71 crore in Maharani Bagh, New Delhi, in connection with a money laundering investigation into the Amrapali Group and its promoters over the alleged diversion of thousands of crores of rupees collected from homebuyers.The property, located at A-3 (New), Maharani Bagh, stands in the name of M/s Surbhaee Advertising Pvt. Ltd.The attachment has been carried out under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, by the ED’s Lucknow Zonal Office.According to the agency, the investigation was initiated on the basis of 18 FIRs registered by the Uttar Pradesh Police and the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Delhi Police against Amrapali Group companies and their directors and promoters.The cases involve allegations of cheating, criminal breach of trust, forgery and criminal conspiracy under various provisions of the Indian Penal Code, 1860.The group had launched several residential projects in Noida and Greater Noida, collecting substantial amounts from homebuyers with promises of delivering flats within 36 months and offering assured returns.However, several projects remained incomplete, and buyers were allegedly neither handed possession of their flats nor refunded their investments.A forensic audit conducted in the matter found that funds exceeding Rs 5,000 crore collected from homebuyers had been diverted by the Amrapali Group, the ED said.The money laundering investigation revealed that funds collected from homebuyers were allegedly diverted to shell companies and other group entities before being siphoned off by the group’s directors under the guise of professional fees.The ED further found that a portion of the diverted funds was allegedly transferred, both directly and through family members of Anil Kumar Sharma, managing director of the Amrapali Group, to Surbhaee Advertising Pvt. Ltd. in the form of loans.These funds were subsequently utilised in connection with the Maharani Bagh property, according to the agency.The ED has identified the property as proceeds of crime generated through the alleged laundering of funds collected from homebuyers and provisionally attached it under the PMLA.The latest attachment is part of the agency’s ongoing investigation into the alleged diversion of homebuyers’ money by the Amrapali Group and the tracing of assets acquired using the proceeds of the alleged offence.Further investigation into the case is underway, the ED said.
