Dubai villa, immovable assets in Mumbai, Pune attached in Maharashtra homebuyers fraud case

New Delhi, Mar 29 (PTI) A Dubai villa, houses and land parcels in Mumbai and Pune are among the fresh assets worth Rs 44 crore, allegedly belonging to a Maharashtra-based builder and his associates, that have been attached under the anti-money laundering law in a case of fraud with 1,700 homebuyers in Navi Mumbai, the ED said on Saturday.

The action has been taken against Supreme Construction and Developer Pvt Ltd, its promoter Lalit Tekchandani and some others. They are alleged to have collected funds worth Rs 400 crore from more than 1,700 homebuyers for a housing project in Taloja, Navi Mumbai.

"Delays in the project left these homebuyers in lurch without a flat or refund," the federal probe agency said in a statement.

Tekchandani was arrested by the ED in March last year and he is currently lodged in a jail under judicial custody.

His interrogation revealed that the funds received from the homebuyers were "laundered" by the builder for personal gains and creation of assets under various names, including that of his family members, the ED claimed.

Tekchandani "alienated" properties of the company, despite his exit from the ownership and directorship of the company, with the assistance of other accused.

The accused were transferring the receivables of the company into the account of an associate entity, thereby "siphoning off" the funds, it said.

An order for provisional attachment of a Dubai villa, residential business premises in Mumbai, land parcels in Pune and fixed deposits with aggregate value of Rs 44.07 crore has been issued under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

The agency had earlier attached properties worth Rs 158 crore as part of the investigation. PTI NES MNK MNK

Source: PTI