Chandigarh: The Directorate of Enforcement (ED), Delhi Zonal Office, on Wednesday claimed to have provisionally attached shares worth Rs 127.33 crore in two immovable properties – Alchemist Hospital and Ojas Hospital – located in Panchkula under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002. These properties are beneficially owned by Karan Deep Singh.The attachment forms part of an ongoing money laundering investigation involving M/s Alchemist Group, its directors, promoters, and associated entities, in relation to alleged large-scale fraud and misappropriation of public funds, the ED mentioned in a release.The ED had initiated the investigation into the case based on an FIR initially registered by the Kolkata Police and subsequently by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), and ACB Lucknow under Sections 120-B and 420 of the Indian Penal Code against M/s Alchemist Township Pvt Ltd, M/s Alchemist Infra Realty Pvt Ltd, and promoter/directors of the Alchemist Group, including Kanwar Deep Singh and others.The case pertains to alleged large-scale criminal conspiracy to defraud investors by illegally raising funds through fraudulent collective investment schemes, offering unusually high returns, and/or making false promises of allotting plots, flats, and villas.Through these deceptive investment schemes, M/s Alchemist Holdings Ltd and M/s Alchemist Township India Ltd illegally collected approximately Rs 1,848 crore from unsuspecting investors and subsequently misappropriated the funds for unauthorised purposes.ED investigation revealed that the misappropriated funds were systematically layered through complex financial transactions involving group entities of the Alchemist Group, with the intent to conceal the illicit origin of the funds. These tainted proceeds were ultimately used for the acquisition of shares and subsequent construction of Alchemist Hospital and Ojas Hospital. The transactions were deliberately structured to project these assets as legitimate, thereby disguising the proceeds of crime.The shares of Alchemist Hospital and Ojas Hospital are held to the extent of 40.94% and 37.24%, respectively, by M/s Sorus Agritech Pvt Ltd, a company beneficially owned by Karan Deep Singh, son of Kanwar Deep Singh.Earlier in the case, Kanwar Deep Singh was arrested by the ED on Jan 12, 2021. Thereafter, a prosecution complaint was filed by the ED before the Special Court (PMLA), New Delhi, on March 2, 2021. Also, a supplementary prosecution complaint was filed on July 19, 2024.The ED has already provisionally attached movable and immovable properties worth Rs 238.42 crore through five separate provisional attachment orders. Further investigation is in progress.MSID:: 122862593 413 |
